Jessica and Mika: Ronin Babes
by Hoshi Tsuiraku
Summary: Two girls moved from America to Japan with their father, their mother having died when they were very young. When one day something happens and their whole school body disappears along with the town and a fox and mysterious owl just show up out of nowhere
1. Default Chapter Title

**CHAPTER I: Double Trouble  
By: Ronin Babes  
**  
Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!  
Mika groaned and rolled over in her bed, pulling her pillow over of her head. But it did little do mute the annoying beeping of her persistant alarm clock. Sitting up, she looked at the alarm clock with bleary eyes. It read 6:59. Exactly one minute before her twin sister's, Jessica, alarm went off.  
"Oh, shut up..." she murmered as she smacked the button on the top of her alarm down, silencing the nagging beeping. She threw off her covers and slipped on her purple fuzzy slippers and tugging on her matching robe as she walked down the hall to her sister's room.  
She looked at her watch right outside Jessica's door and counted silently to herself. "One... two... th-"  
THUMP!  
Mika grinned to herself and continued down the hallway to the bathroom.  
  
-[*]-  
  
Inside her room, Jessica lay in a tangled heap on the floor. Human vs. the bedsheets. Jessica groaned and looked at her silent alarm laying on the floor next to her. "Not again... this is my fourth alarm clock since we've BEEN here. I've got to stop doing that."  
She managed to untangle herself from her bedsheets and pulled on her fuzzy light blue slippers and matching robe. She grabbed her school clothes and walked out into the hallway which was dimly illuminated in the early morning light. Upon opening her door she was almost immeaditely blasted with a wall of steam from Mika's morning shower.  
Grumbling to herself, she knocked on the bathroom door. "Mika! Turn the shower down just a bit. We don't want roasted Mika for dinner tonight."  
She heard a muffled answer from the other side of the door before she continued to pad her way down the hallway to the other bathroom. She stifled a yawn as she turned on the water. 'This is torture,' she thought, 'no-one should have to get up while its still dark outside.'  
After their showers, both girls dried and put up their hair. And, unlike Mika, Jessica put on a touch of blush, mascara, eyeshadow and lipgloss; not too much, but just enough to seem natural. She smiled at her reflection in the mirror before opening the door - and running right into Mika.  
"Yikes! Sorry Jessica. But have you seen my hair scrunchie?" Mika asked her.  
"Uh, this thing?" Jessica replied, holding up a white scrunchie and holding it out to Mika. "You know, you should really try DOING something with your hair BESIDES a ponytail... curl it or something. Or leave it down."  
"No way! Curling irons and I do NOT mix!! I don't even know which end to hold!! Besides, if I did, people would think that I'm YOU!"  
"And that's a bad thing?"  
Mika smirked. "Yes."  
Jessica just rolled her eyes and pushed her sister out of the doorway as she made her way down the steps. "Oh, wait!" Mika called to her right when she reached the top of the steps.  
Jessica twirled around. "What?" she asked, clearly annoyed. She tapped her foot impatiently.  
"Umm... do you have any of those shorts? The skin-tight ones? I can't stand being in this..." Mika looked down at her school skirt, "THING."  
"Mika, that THING is a skirt and," Jessica said, grinning, obviously planning payback for her sister. "Besides, you look absolutely DAHLING in it! And you want skin tight shorts?? Do you have to ask?" Jessica rolled her eyes as she pushed open her door to her room and disappearing inside. She came back out and handed a pair of shorts to her sister who grinned and quickly put them on underneath her school uniform.  
"Now, can we eat breakfast?"  
Mika looked down with a worried look on her face that turned to suprise when she looked back up at her sister. "Oh, no!" she exclaimed.  
"What?"  
"We're late!! We're going to be late for our first day of school!"  
Jessica shreiked. "Ack! Oh no we've still got to get our stuff together!! And I haven't even gotten to eat yet!!" she said as she turned to run into her room but stopped in the doorway. She turned around and faced the smirking Mika. Jessica narrowed her eyes. "Ha ha ha. VERY funny." she growled at her.  
Mika laughed then shreiked and ran down the steps into the kitchen as Jessica started to chase her. Once in the kitchen, both girls took their places at the table and were immeaditely met by a cherry voice.  
"Hello girls! And how is your day so far?"  
Jessica sat, still glaring at Mika from across the table. "Fine," she said through her teeth, still obviously mad at her sister.  
"I thought that you two would never wake up!!" their dad said turning around.  
Mika grinned. "We were awake some time ago. Unlike you who was snoring away when I passed your room on my way to the shower earlier."  
Their dad walked up to Mika abruptly, shaking the spatula in a nagging manner. "Watch it Missy... you two had better hurry up and eat now. It's almost 7:30 and you have to leave now if you want to make it to school by the first bell!!"  
Both girls shreiked and jumped up, nearly knocking their chairs over. Jessica grabbed a bagel from the toaster and Mika grabbed a poptart. Both girls grabbed their books and ran past their dad, each giving him a kiss on the cheek before storming out the door. "Bye dad!" both girls yelled over their shoulders in unison.  
Outside, both girls were running hurridely in the direction that they had walked the day before. Jessica stuffed her bagel into her mouth as Mika wolfed down her poptart in record breaking time. Turning a sharp corner, both girls ran smack into two guys.  
"Omph!" Jessica said as she landed on the sidewalk, and Mika likewise. Both guys were sitting on the sidewalk in front of them, both parites books were sprawled out all over the pavement.  
"Hey, are you alright?" one asked, getting up. He had nice, blue hair, pretty blue eyes, and, to Jessica, an irresistable smile. He moved to help her up, as Mika stood up on her own and the other boy still sat on the ground.  
"Whoa," said the other guy. "Am I seeing double?"  
"We didn't run into them that hard Kento!" the blue haired boy smiled. He turned his smile to the two girls. "Sorry for that... collission. My name is Rowen and this knuckelhead down here is Kento." he said about the brown haired blue-eyed boy on the ground next to him. Bending down to Kento, Rowen hissed, "Do you mind?"  
Kento smirked as if he was planning something. Suddenly he started to howl in pain as he tried to stand up. "Ooooww my leg! I think I broke my leg... ooohhhhh..." he moaned, grabbing ahold of his leg as if he were in pain. Jessica grew concerned and kneeled down next to the howling Kento. "Where does it hurt at?" she asked, looking, to Kento, totally angelic.  
"I... my leg..." he said, rolling his eyes in the back of his head then falling to the ground.  
"Kento!" Jessica shreiked. She checked his pulse. "Oh, no! I don't think he is breathing but he has a pulse..."  
Mika was now starting to look worried. At first she thought that he was just putting on an act, but he wouldn't take an act this far - would he? "He-he's not really hurt... is he?" she asked timidly.  
"He may need CPR!" Jessica said, growing more alarmed.  
Suddenly both girls looked up to Rowen who was trying not to laugh. But when he couldn't hold it in any longer, he burst out laughing. Mika's face turned to confusion as Jessica started yelling, "How can you laugh at a time like this? He could be dying!!"  
"Sure he is. Tickle his stomach; he's just putting on an act. He is perfectly fine, aren't ya Kento? And the winner of the most dramatic performance goes to Kento Rei Faun!!" Rowen said, clapping.  
Kento opened one eye and looked up at Rowen, his face had turned red from holding his breath for so long. "Man Rowen, why'd you have to go do that for?"  
"Maybe because you're going to make us late, and that you were trying to steal a kiss from..." Rowen trailed off, not knowing the girls names' yet.  
Jessica stood up, blushed, and looked down at her feet. "Jessica," she managed to get out.  
"And I'm Mika. Here are your books," she said, handing them their appropriate books back to their respectable owners.  
Kento sat up from his place on the ground and took his book from Mika. "Hey, you're wearing the school uniforms from Hakura High!" he exclaimed.  
"Yeah," Mika said, "that's our high school that we attend now. We only have fifteen minutes until first bell guys," she informed them.  
"Alright. So you're new to Japan, or just this high school?" Kento still asked, looking up at the two identical girls.  
"Uh, DUH..." Mika said, rolling her eyes. "C'mon Jessica, we'd better get going or we'll be late for first bell!" Mika grabbed ahold of Jessica's wrist and started pulling her in the direction of their High School.  
Rowen started walking off after the two girls, leaving Kento still laying on the sidewalk behind them. "Hey!" he called. "Don't forget; we're all late together! Wait for me!" he said, jumping up and running towards the group, which had become quite a distance ahead of him by now.  
In front of the school, Jessica started fumbling around in the pocket as if she was looking for something. She pulled out a small folded piece of paper and unfolded it, explaining, "My schedule! I thought I'd forgotten it there for a minute."  
"Here, let me see it," Rowen said, reaching out for her schedule. Jessica handed him her schedule and likewise Mika handed her own schedule to Kento's outstretched hand. Kento was expecting something else, and a look of puzzlement washed over his face as he saw Mika smirking. Frowning, he looked down at the slip of paper laying in his hand, and his face immeaditely broke out in a huge smile.  
"Hey! You've got first hour with me! Isn't that great?" Kento grinned.  
"Yeah. Great." Mika said sarcastically. She turned to look at Jessica, and her twin looked at her and saw a look of desperation on her face. 'Help me!!' she mouthed to her sister, who just sat there and giggled at her.  
"Rowen! Hey Rowen!" Rowen looked up and immeaditely smiled. "Hey Ryo! Cye!" Two more guys joined their group. One with dark black hair and pretty blue eyes, the other with light brown hair and matching eyes, 'and a cute smile!' Mika thought. 'No!! I'm not supposed to like boys! C'mon, they're BOYS! I'm supposed to be a tomboy... not a sissy like my sister...' she groaned and painfully tore her eyes from his face and paid more attention to Kento, who still had posession of her schedule and she couldn't afford to loose it.  
"Uh, Kento?" she smiled. "Can I have that back now?"  
"Huh? Oh, yeah. Here." he said and handed it back to her.  
Mika then turned her attention back to the two newcomers. "Hi, I'm Mika and this is my sister Jessica." Mika smiled at the brown-haired cutie.  
The boy smiled. Rowen turned to the girls and introduced his two friends as Ryo Sanada and Cye Mouri.  
"I hear its your first day? First hour bell is about to ring so we'd better hurry!" Ryo said as he adjusted the strap of his bookbag.  
"I have no idea where half of my classes are... except first hour..." Mika half-whined and half-grumbled.  
"It's ok," the grinning Kento said, "We'll help ya through the day! Hakura High isn't so big that you won't run into one of us, if not all of us, more than once in the day."  
"Great..." Mika said, rolling her eyes again and turning to Jessica. "Where's your first hour?"  
"Uhh... I really don't know!" she said, looking totally clueless at her schedule. Rowen hadn't helped her much.  
Ryo took the paper from her and read it for a second before excaliming, "You don't have first hour with any of US..." he said, looking around at the rest of the guys who had started to giggle a little, "but it's near my first hour so I'll walk you there to show you where it is," he said to the totally clueless Jessica.  
Jessica didn't like the way that they were all shifting and giggling, coughing to try to cover it up. "Ummm... is there something that I should be let in on here? I don't see what's so funny." Jessica frowned.  
"Oh, nothing." Cye grinned at her which just made the group laugh more.  
Bring! Bring! Bring!  
"Ikes!! Oh, no! First bell!!" Mika nearly jumped out of her skin as the crowds of people standing around her thinned and started to funnel in through the doorway to school from the courtyard into the lobby.  
"C'mon Jessica. I'll show you where your first hour class is." Ryo said, turning to leave.  
"Alright, thanks Ryo. Bai guys!" Jessica waved to the guys as she was led into the school building by Ryo.  
Kento grinned at Mika. "Well, I might as well lead you to OUR first hour now," he said, accentuating when he said 'our'. He grabbed her wrist and pulled a not-so-happy and protesting Mika into the building. She barely even got in a bai to the guys before she disappeared into the busteling crowd behind Kento.  
"I feel sorry for those two," Rowen laughed as the two remaining guys made their way into the school building.  
"Yeah, that's for sure. And poor Jessica. She has first hour with Sage! No-one should have to be put through that kind of torture! Especially on her first day!" Cye chuckled.  
"Thats for sure! I can't wait to hear their stories at lunch! Well, I'll see you at lunch Cye! Bai!"  
"Bai!" Cye waved to Rowen as the two disappeared into their first hour classrooms.  
  
-[*]-  
  
Jessica slumped down farther in her seat in first hour, slowly getting more and more annoyed at the blonde-haired guy sitting in the row next to her. Continually asking her for a calculator, pencil, pen, a piece of paper, eraser... it was really starting to bother her.  
She moved her eyes up to the clock that hung above the center of the blackboard in the front of the room. 'Five more minutes...' she thought, longing for the bell to ring before Mr. Annoying could stop her.  
"...so that will be due next week. Five pages, typed, double-spaced..." the teached went on. No-one was really listening to him anyway. Jessica sighed as she gathered her books up. She already had a five page report to write on Japanese history and it was only first hour!! The teacher went on still talking but Jessica tuned him out and focused on only two things - the door and the bell.  
Finally, what seemed like an eternity, the ball rang. "Finally," Jessica said under her breath as she made a mad dash for the exit. She quickly stepped out of the room, but she wasn't fast enough to escape Mr. My-Ego-Is-Sky-High, who she bumped into. Jessica groaned.  
"Hello there, beautiful..." he said, leaning against the wall. Jessica rolled her eyes and pushed past him. But the blonde side-stepped her and blocked her way once again. "What are you doing Friday night?" he said smoothly.  
"Nothing..." she trailed off as he started to grin. But the grin quickly disappeared as she finished. "Nothing with YOU." 'I guess Mika DID teach me something,' she thought. "Now, would you PLEASE get out of my way?"  
"Sage! You aren't scaring off all of the new girls on their first day, are you?" someone joked from behind them. Jessica turned around.  
"Ryo!" she said, smiling.  
"Hi Jessica. Sage, you aren't bothering her, are you?"  
Sage put an innocent look on his face when he said, "Who, me? Now, why would I do something like that?"  
Ryo just laughed and turned back to Jessica. "Don't mind him. He does this to every girl within a 50 mile radius."  
"I thought it was bigger," said Cye, appearing behind Ryo. The two laughed as Sage frowned.  
"I do no-" Sage was cut off as a huge group of girls ran up and surrounded him, pulling him away from Jessica, Ryo and Cye, something that Sage didn't exactly resist.  
Jessica breathed relaxingly. "Phew. He's gone. I thought I'd never be able to get rid of him!"  
Ryo smiled. "Yeah, but that's just our Sage. It takes a 50 pound crow-bar to pry him off of a girl."  
"Jessica! Jessica!" a voice squealed from behind her that could only belong to her twin, Mika. Mika ran up to Jessica, Ryo, and Cye and hid herself behind them. "Hide me!" she shreiked. Jessica couldn't help but laugh.  
"What did you do this time? It's only first hour!"  
"I know!" she wailed. "But I didn't mean to!"  
Kento walked up laughing. "Ha ha Mika! That was a good one! You should have seen the look on his face!!"  
"Whos face?" Ryo asked, looking from Mika to Kento.  
"Mr. Miyako! I mean, it wasn't like Mika spilled coffee on his lap on purpose!! Haha!"  
"And how do you know I didn't?" Mika hissed to him, peering out from around Jessica.  
"On purpose? Mika!" Jessica scolded.  
Suddenly, a teacher appeared from around the corner, a big brown spot covered his lower shirt and upper portion of his pants. Mika skreiked and hid farther behind Jessica and Ryo. "Don't let him get me!" she squealed.  
"Where did she go?" Mr. Miyako said, walking up to Kento.  
"Eh... I think she..." he didn't get to finish his sentence before Mika had an uncontrollable urge to sneeze. Unable to stop it, she sneezed, revealing her hiding spot to Mr. Miyako.  
"THERE you are! Young lady, you'll be coming with me..." he huffed as Mika wearily stood up.  
"But it was an accident! Honest!" she said, giving him the face that she gave to so many teachers. The face that she always got out of trouble with. Suddenly, Mika burst into tears, crying, "It's just so hard, coming to a new school where you don't know anybody or where anything..." she cried.  
A look of sympathy came over the old man's face as he said softly, "It's ok, I know how you must feel. I'll let you off this time, but please watch where you're swinging your arms next time, young lady." he said, walking off.  
As soon as he turned the corner, Mika looked up with a smile on her face. "Phew, that was easy! I usually have to keep that act up for at least five minutes before my teachers give in."  
The others just looked at her and laughed. "Wow, we only have a minute until second hour!"  
"I've already seen your schedule, Jessica. Your next hour is with me," Ryo said.  
"And your next hour is with..." Kento said, thinking hard. "Rowen..." he said, disappointed. "Man," he grumbled under his breath, barely audible for the rest of the group.  
"It's alright Kento!" Mika said, slapping him on his back so hard that he fell down. "Don't feel bad. Your third hour is with Jessica. See ya later!" she said, skipping off happily down the hallway with Rowen.  
"I have third hour with HIM?" Jessica cried. "Man why do I have to be tortured like this?"  
"Just wait 'til lunch..." Ryo said grinning. "Shall we?"  
"Sure." Jessica smiled and walked down the hall with Ryo to her next hour as the others split up and walked hurridely to their next hours so as not to be tardy.  
Mika and Rowen arrived at their class as soon as the bell rang marking the beginning of second hour. Mika stood up in the front of the classroom as the rest of the class took their seats. Mika's teacher turned to her with a large smile on her face. Mika frowned. 'She's too happy,' she thought.  
"Mika... Mika Kenshin, is that right?" When Mika nodded, she turned to the class. "Class, we have a new student. Her name is Mika Kenshin and she just moved here from America. Where at in America?"  
"Oh, it's the state of Florida. We lived in a small town near Tampa Bay," she said, more to the teacher than to the class.  
"That sounds like a nice town!" The teacher said over enthusiastically as she turned to pull down the world map. While the teacher's back was to her, Mika twirled her fingers around in the air by the side of her head and pointing to the teacher, the sign that meant she thought she was crazy. She immeaditely returned her hand to her side as the teacher turned back around, the same huge smile still plastered onto her face. "Let's locate Florida, class!"  
"Umm... I don't mean to be rude or anything, but I don't suppose you want to give me somewhere to sit? Unless you LIKE me up here at your desk..." Mika said.  
"Oh, of course. There's a free seat behind... Rowen Hashiba over there next to the window." she said, smiling at Mika.  
Mika rolled her eyes as she made her way to her seat, getting a few laughs from the class. She took her seat behind Rowen, whispering to him, "Let's get slap-happy now!"  
Rowen coughed, trying to cover up his laugh. "That's not nice!" he said, a small smile tugging on the corner of his mouth.  
"I know," Mika whispered, a sweet smile on her face.  
"Do you have something that you would like to share with the class Mika?" the teacher said.  
"Actually, I think I already have," she said, getting a few stifled laughs out of the class. "About where I live I mean. Rowen was just asking about what part in Florida I actually lived in. And I was just telling him about what a great class this is!" She said, leaning on her desk and smiling brightly to the teacher.  
"Well, then," she said, turning back to the map, still seeming to be looking for Florida. "Now, Florida is a magnificent state," she continued, "It's where we get all of our oranges and stuff from..." she said, trailing her finger over the map and passing Florida a number of times.  
"I thought this was supposed to be geography class!" Mika whispered to Rowen.  
"It is. Mrs. Oda just lets her happiness get in the way of her brain sometimes, what little one he has. I mean, she's like this all the time!"  
"Zoned out?" Mika said as she leaned back in her desk and rested her chin in her hand. This was going to be a long, boring class. The next thing she knows, Rowen is lightly tapping Mika on her forehead with the tip of his pencil.  
"Uh, Mika?"  
"Hmmm... what..." she said, opening her eyes. "Oh, no!" she said as she saw the class filing out of the room. 'I must have fallen asleep!'  
"Have a nice nap?" Rowen joked. "It's only third hour now! The day isn't even half over yet. Think you can make it?" he joked, winking at Mika.  
Mika muttered something in response as she gathered up her books and followed Rowen out of the classroom. 'Man, why is this day going by so awfully slow?' she whined in her head as she followed Rowen. 'Now, what is my third hour...?' she said, nodding her head in deep thought. Her head suddenly snapped up and a huge smile broke out over her face as she realized that her next class was with Cye.  
"Someone woke up awfully quick!" Rowen joked as the two headed down the hallway.  
  
-[*]-  
  
Jessica looked across the gym floor and giggled as she watched Kento make an attempt to climb the ropes in P.E. class. He looked more like an ape than ever, and the way he climbed so quickly and expertly to the top just proved her theory.  
When Kento landed back on the mats, he ran over to Jessica with a huge grin on his face. Jessica couldn't help but laugh as she clapped. "Go Kento! You really had it there! And that look on your face..."  
"Hey...! What was wrong with the way I climb? See my muscles?" he said as he flexed his muscles. "These babies are from hard years of working out and that was just simple compared to what I do at Sage's dojo!"  
Jessica smirked. "Huh, you've SURE got a six pack on ya!" she said, poking his stomach. Kento stuck out his bottom lip.  
"Hey, that isn't fair..." he said pitifully as the teacher released the class to go to their next hour.  
  
-[*]-  
  
Mika sat, bored as hell at her seat in fourth hour. She rested her chin in the palm of her hand then immeaditely changed positions when she remembered what happened last time she did that. She glanced over to the blonde who had been bugging and bothering her all hour. 'Why won't that annoying little baka leave me alone?' she wondered as she sighed and turned her attention back to her art project.  
"Are you sure you don't want to go out with me Friday night?" the blonde-haired boy said, leaning closer to Mika, a huge grin on his face.  
'What is he talking about?' Mika thought. 'God, does he ever give up? He's been doing this to me all hour... ARGH!' Mika opened her mouth to say some snide remark to him when she quickly shut it again. An evil smiled curled her lips as an idea suddenly popped into her head. An idea so evil... she just couldn't resist. Mika turned to the boy, her back to her art table as she slid her hand behind her and secretly grabbed her cup of dirty paint water from behind her, out of sight from the guy. She scooted closer to him. "You know, maybe I was wrong... you ARE pretty hot..."  
The boy just sat there, a self-satisfaction smile spread all over his face as her words sank in. Mika continued: "Soo hot... that I think I should cool you off!" she exclaimed, bringing the cup out from behind her back and dumping it all over the poor boys head, turning his hair a light shade of pink.  
The boy's eyes grew wide as he realized what the girl had just done to him. But he quickly recovered and a look of anger washed over his face as he jumped up. "Why you little..." Mika squealed and ran past the teacher, the eyes of the entire class on the two feuding teens as the bell rang. Mika ran back around, grabbing her books. "Get back here!" he hollered at her as she circled back and made a beeline towards the exit.  
"Hold on there just a second, young lady," the teacher told her sternly. Mika stopped dead in her tracks and gulped as she slowly turned to face the teacher. She could hear the boy snickering from behind her. "You think you were really funny back there, don't you?"  
"Well... actually... um, no... I - I..." she trailed off, obviously at a loss for words.  
"That's what I thought..." the teacher said, walking over to her desk and pulling out a slip of paper that filled Mika's face with dread.  
"Oh, noo..." she moaned as the teacher filled out the slip then handed her her portion of it.  
"Saturday detention. I'm looking forward to seeing you there... Mika. You're dismissed." she said with a wave of her hand, Mika looked behind her and saw the boy run at her again. She shreiked and tore out of the room to find her sister.  
Jessica was chatting with Ryo, Kento, Cye and Rowen before lunch. They were standing outside of the lunch room waiting for Mika and Sage to show up. Suddenly Jessica heard her name being screamed from an adjacent hallway.  
"Jessica! Jessica hide me again!" Mika squealed as she ran to the group and hid between them.  
"Ok, what happened? Did it have something to do with coffee this time?" Kento snickered.  
"WHERE IS SHE?" they heard Sage's voice exclaim from the hallway Mika had just come out of. Sage appeared and everyone laughed at the sight of his light pink hair. Sage growled at the others as his eyes fell upon Jessica. "There you are!" he yelled, storming over to her.  
"Me?" Jessica asked innocently.  
"Yes you. I know who did this to me!!" Sage said, pointing to his hair.  
"Uh, Sage, I think you're confused... you see..." Ryo started.  
"I AM NOT CONFUSED! I remember what a girl looks like when I see one and THIS is the one who did THIS to me! You are going to PAY!" he cut off Ryo.  
The others laughed as Sage pointed to his hair which just made him madder than he already was. Mika peeked out from the middle of the group. "Well, you deserved it!" she said and stuck her head back in to the safety of the group.  
"Wha- what the hell?" he exclaimed, looking from face to face. "There's TWO? Two of them? Am I dreaming? I must be..." the group laughed some more. Some girl walks by Sage. They looked at his hair and started laughing. Sage turned red.  
"C'mon Sage, Lets see if we can wash that out before lunch." Ryo said, pulling Sage into the bathroom. Halfway there, another group of girls passed by on their way to lunch, pointing and giggling at Sage, who just blushed even more and ducked into the bathroom with Ryo.  
"We'd better get going to lunch! I'm starved!" Kento said, rubbing his stomach as the group laughed in mock agreement.  
"But shouldn't we wait for Sage and Ryo?" Jessica asked.  
"They know where we sit for lunch. C'mon girls! I'll show ya where the food is!" Kento exclaimed, grabbing each girls' wrist and pulling them helplessly behind them. Both girls looked back pitifully at the two remaining guys as they were led into the cafeteria. Once there, Kento released their wrists and grabbed a tray, quickly piling food onto it.  
Jessica picked up a tray and put some food on it, as so did Mika. They went through the line and met back up with Kento, who led them to their 'lunch pad' where the other guys were already sitting and eating.  
"Man, Kento, you think you got enough to eat?" Jessica poked fun at Kento. "Yeah, I can see now how you got that six pack!!"  
The others chuckled to themselves as Kento's face turned crimson. After clearing off his tray, Kento wailed for more food. "MAN! I'm still waaay hungry and I'm broke!! What'm I gonna DO?" he said, eyeing Mika's untouched piece of pizza laying on her plate.  
"Hey...!" Mika cried as Kento's hand shot out and grabbed it. Mika jumped up and chased him around the lunch room, screaming at him to unhand her pizza.  
Finally, Mika caught up and tackled Kento as she grabbed for her pizza back. For a minute the two were engaged in a game of tug-and-war. "I'll never let go, Mika! I'll never let go...!" He wailed as Mika reclaimed her pizza. She then flipped him over onto his stomach and sat down on his back, basking in her victorious battle and eating her pizza. Kento pleaded for her to let him go but she just smirked and ate her pizza slowly.  
Sage, Ryo, Cye, Rowen, and Jessica watched the battle from the sidelines, as so did the rest of the lunch room. "Whoa," Cye exclaimed, "Nobody, and I mean NOBODY, especially a GIRL, has EVER been able to tackle Kento!"  
"Especially over food!" Ryo added.  
"Yeah, but that's our Mika!" Jessica said as she grinned at Mika, who was grinning right back at her from ontop Kento. "She can tackle anybody!"  
"I can tell..." Sage said, impressed. "Heh, I'd like to see her take ME on, though."  
"Nice hair, Sage..." Rowen said, Sage's hair still stained fairly pink, barely noticable. But Ryo and him had gotten most of the paint out.  
Mika heard Sage's comment, finished her slice of pizza and, to Kento's relief, stood up and walked over to a smirking Sage. "What was that I heard you comment on?" she smiled up sweetly at him.  
"Oh, nothing. Just that you could never do that to me."  
"Oh, you mean THIS?" she cried as she flipped him over her shoulder. Sage landed against some chairs and overturning a table. Sage howled with pain from the floor while Mika had a self-satisified smile on her face. "As you were saying...?"  
"I'M saying that it's detention for you, missy!" the principal growled as he walked briskly up and grabbed Mika's wrist.  
"NANI? Not another one..." she groaned.  
"Another? Another one?" Jessica asked.  
"The one from fourth hour in art class when I did that to his hair, and now this... aww man." she hung her head as the principle filled out the slip and handed the sheet back to her.  
"Be here Saturday. Bright and early. You'll serve BOTH of your detentions!"  
"Awwww MAN!" Mika stomped her foot as the principal walked briskly away.  
"One more detention, and you'll break your record!" Jessica teased.  
"You mean you guys keep track of how many detentions she gets?" Cye wondered.  
"Actually, she gets so many that we can't keep track. The most she's gotten in a day is two, and it's only fourth/fifth hour, and she has two already! We've still got three hours! Who knows what'll happen." Jessica laughed as she finished her lunch.  
"Oooh... does somebody mind helping me up?" Sage moaned from the mess of tables and chairs.  
"Oh, Sage!" the group laughed.  
"We'd totally forgotten about you!" Cye teased.  
"Thanks," Sage growled. "Now I know what good friends YOU are..." he laughed. Rowen moved over to help him up. Sage glared at Mika who jumped behind Cye.  
The group walked back to their lunch table and barely finished their lunches before the bell rang, marking the end of lunch period.  
"Well," Rowen said, standing up, "Hey Jessica you have next hour with me."  
"Woohoo, geometry." Jessica said, half-smiling.  
"Yup."  
"I have P.E. next!! Yay!" Mika said, skipping down the hall and doing her so called 'happy dance'. Ryo grabbed her shoulder and stopped her from spinning.  
"Watch out there, you don't want to ram into anybody and get another detention, do ya?" he half-joked.  
"Well..." Mika looked thoughtful. "If one of you would get a detention with me, it wouldn't be so bad!" The others laughed.  
"Yeah, right! I'll do anything as long as food is involved!!" Kento said, grinning.  
"Anything is right!" Cye joked as he smacked him on the back. Kento scowled at him.  
"What was that for? Rrrrr..." Kento started shaking his fist at Cye, but then decided not to because he didn't want to get Saturday detention and waste his weekend away. Especially since they didn't give you anything to eat. 'I'd starve! I'd absolutely starve!!' he thought as they all headed towards their fifth hour classes.  
  
-[*]-  
  
"Mmmm my favorite class of all time!" Kento exlaimed as Mika, Kento, Jessica, and Cye walked in through the doorway to Home Ec from their fifth hour classes. "Especially since we get to EAT what we make!!"  
"Actually, Kento," Cye pointed out, "I did most of the cooking, and you did most of the eating."  
"Well, somebody has to eat what you cook! We don't want perfectly good food to go to waste, now do we?"  
"I guess you have your own personal food disposal, huh Cye?" Jessica smiled.  
"Ok, class, please take your seats..." the teacher said as she walked into the room. Everyone walked to their assigned seats and sat down. Jessica and Mika, who didn't have any, took a seat by Cye and Kento until the teacher assigned them one on the other side of the room, but still together.  
"Today, class, we are going to practice cooking chocolate crépes!" the teacher said. Mika glanced at Kento, who was already hungrily licking his lips. "Please get into groups of six and then come see me and I will assign your group a kitchen."  
The classmates got up and hurridely formed into four groups of six. Mika and Jessica joined Cye and Kento's group, and since they were two short, two other girls from their class joined their group as well, Sakura and Natsumi. The group headed over to the teacher, who assigned them to kitchen three. Kento happily bounded over to the kitchen, pulling out assorted pots and pans and looking at them dumbfoundedly.  
"Kento," Sakura laughed, "those are for something else. Put them back!"  
"Huh? Oh!" Kento said as he put the pots and pans back on their approprite shelves. "Now, what do we need to make these chocolate things?" he asked hungrily.  
"Ummm... here's the insrtuctions..." Cye said, bending over a piece of paper that the teacher had handed to the group. After getting out all of the needed items, Cye set to work.  
"Wait!" Mika exclaimed, coming up behind Cye with an apron. She swung her arms around him, tying the apron to him. Cye looked down at the apron and laughed at it. The apron read 'kiss the cook'.  
"Funny..." he said, turning back to his cooking. After awhile, the batter for the crépes was done and ready for cooking. "You guys are supposed to make your own," Cye said, pouring some of the batter into the skillet and cooking his crépe first. After about fifteen seconds, he removed his crépe and let it cool. "Your turn," he said, handing the skillet to Jessica who made hers, then Mika, then Natsumi. After Natsumi made hers, she handed it to Kento.  
"Uh, Cye? Couldn't you, like, do this for me?"  
"No Kento," he laughed. "It's your grade, not mine."  
"Awwww man!! Please?"  
"Sorry Kento. It REALLY isn't that hard. You just pour it in there, swish it around, take it out and your done!!"  
"Well, ok, it doesn't SEEM hard..." he said as he took the batter and spooned some into the skillet. He hummed to himself a little as the batter cooked.  
Off on another counter, Cye, Mika, Jessica, and Natsumi were filling their cooled crépes with the chocolate filling, not paying attention to Kento whatsoever. Until, that is, they heard someone shreiking behind them.  
"Aaaa!!" Kento screamed, running around the kitchens with a skillet full of flames. "Aaa! Help me help me help!!" he cried.  
"Kento!" Cye yelled, dropping his crépe on the floor and running towards his friend with a pan full of water. The smoke from the skillet set off the smoke alarms, and with that the sprinklers went off also. Cye dumped the entire pot of water over Kento and the burning skillet as the entire school was evacuated onto the campus.  
Once outside, Mika and Natsumi were laughing so hard Jessica glared at Mika. "That wasn't funny!" she exclaimed. Sakura nodded.  
"Yes... it... was!!" she said between fits of laughter. "You should have seen the look on his face!!" Mika stopped laughing long enough to say, "Look! There goes the Home Ec teacher up to Kento! She's probably going to yell at him! I won't be suprised if he gets a detention!! Haha! Then we can serve detention together! Woohoo!! Oh, wait." she stopped laughing and suddenly looked sober. "Detention? With Kento? Aaa!" Mika ran up to the teacher to try to convince her not to give him a Saturday.  
Jessica just shook her head. "Why would he get a detention for an accident? It wasn't like he did it on purpose!" she said to Sakura, who was standing next to her.  
"I know. Your sister, she needs to lay off the hyper pills or something." Sakura smiled a bit.  
"Yeah, but try telling her that." she said as the two watched the scene with Kento, Mika, and the Home Ec teacher from across the campus. "You think she's convincing the teacher to not let him have detention?"  
"I don't think he'll get one. Although the teacher DID say in the beginning of the year that you're supposed to have a sink full of water at all times in case something like this would happen. And if there isn't a fire, then you just use the water to wash the dishes in." Sakura laughed. "Poor Kento. He was too busy drooling over the food samples that I guess he didn't pay any attention in class that day."  
"Nooo... you mean poor ME..." a whining voice said coming up from behind them. "Man I'm really starting to not like Kento very much. I've got a Saturday with him! Him, of all people!!"  
"Huh? Why did he get a detention?" Sakura wondered.  
"Because she said it was very 'inappropriate' of him to 'run around the room like a chicken with its head cut off' when the skillet caught fire. And that she went over what to do in case of a fire the first day of class. Which he obviously wasn't paying attention in, I gather." Mika still whined.  
"No I guess not and, believe me, he is going to hear about it while Mika is walking with him to Saturday detention..." Jessica said.  
"Walking with him?" Mika said, her eyes popping open wide.  
"Yeah, he DOES live right down the street from us you know. I saw him outside the other day and didn't remember it until now." Jessica teased.  
"Awwww why ME? Why does everything always have to happen to ME?" Mika whined as the students were called back to their sixth hours.  
  
-[*]-  
  
Mika and Jessica were walking back home after school with Kento, Rowen, and Sakura, who all lived not too far away from the two girls. Jessica looked around at all the cherry blossoms in the trees that lined the streets as they walked by. 'Wow... they're so... so kirei!' she thought as she smiled up to the trees.  
Pretty soon, sooner than she wanted them to, Jessica and Mika reached their house. "Well, I guess we'll see you guys tomorrow then," Jessica said as she and Mika turned into their driveway.  
"Yeah... I'll see you tomorrow," Rowen said as the girls disappeared into their house. "C'mon guys."  
"I still can't believe that I got that detention!" Kento wailed. "I mean, it was an accident!"  
"Yeah, what happened was an accident, but what you did wasn't!" Sakura laughed.  
"I couldn't help it!! I didn't know what to dooo..."  
"It's really commen sense, Kento." Rowen laughed. "Fire happens, water puts out fire, fire is gone. It's not hard, Kento."  
"Yeah but still..." Kento frowned. "I'm still all wet from when Cye dumped that pot of water on me."  
"He didn't dump it on you, Kento, he dumped it on the pot to put out the fire and you just happened to be holding it at the time," Sakura said.  
"Argh you guys are no help at all!!" Kento said as he stomped into his house.  
"See ya tomorrow!" Rowen and Sakura laughed, walking further down the road to their own houses.  
  
========================================  
Ronin Babes is © Hoshi-chan (hoshi@hashiba.net).  
DO NOT alter this story or take it and say its yours!  
I worked hard writing it. So yeah. And if you want a  
sneak peek at the third chapter, then go to:  
http://Touma.IsCute.com  
Arigato and ja ne! ^_^


	2. Default Chapter Title

**CHAPTER II: Forces of Evil  
By: Ronin Babes  
**  
Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!  
Mika groaned and rolled over to look at her beeping alarm clock. "Aww man..." she groaned as she rolled over to get up. Another school day. Mika didn't want to get up but she knew that she had to. Unwillingly, she rolled over and swung her feet over the edge of the side of her bed. She slipped on her fuzzy purple slippers and grabbed her school clothes, plus the pair of shorts lent to her by Jessica, and padded down the hallway to the shower, passing Jessica's room on the way there.  
Mika looked down at her watch again in the dark, counting down. "Five... four... three... two... o-"  
Thump!  
Mika smirked. 'Right on time,' she thought as she proceeded down the hallway for her shower.  
Inside her room, Jessica groaned as she realized that she had to get up for school. 'Well, at least today is Friday,' she thought as she forcefully pulled herself out of bed and headed towards the showers. 'Hey, I didn't break my alarm this morning!' she thought as she turned on the warm water of the shower.  
Both girls met downstairs after their showers. They got up earlier this morning to allow themselves some time to eat before having to dash out the door for school. Their father had started his job earlier that week, leaving the girls home alone for an hour in the morning and about four or five in the afternoon.  
Jessica grabbed her bowl of cereal that she had fixed for herself off of the counter and headed for the table, grabbing her glass of orange juice as she sat down. Mika smiled to herself as she heated up some pancakes in the microwave and poring herself a glass of milk as they heated up. When the microwave beeped, Mika grabbed them and smothered them in maple syrup, as Jessica brought her empty bowl and glass to the sink.  
"Try to be a little bit faster," Jessica smirked to her sister as she ran upstairs to grab her school books.  
"Hey, can you grab my books too please?" Mika called up to her sister from her stack of pancakes.  
"I guess so, if I can find them!" she called back down to her, as her sister's room was literally a nuclear mess. Nontheless, Jessica reappeared back downstairs with both girls books. "Ohmigosh!" she exclaimed.  
"Nani? What?" Mika asked, with a mouth full of pancake. She swallowed her bite as she realised what Jessica was rushing around for. "God, how can we be late again?? We got up almost a half hour earlier..." she whined as she grabbed her books, Jessica grabbed the house key, and the girls ran out the kitchen door, locking the house up behind them.  
The girls ran down their street, their hair flying out behind them when they reached the corner. Jessica held out her hand to stop Mika, who ran into it and almost fell down, as she did every morning so far. Jessica counted on her fingers. "One... two... three!"  
Almost like clockwork, Rowen and Kento appeared around the corner and immeaditely screeching to a halt as they saw Mika and Jessica standing there with silly grins on their faces.  
"Nani? What is it?" Kento said, looking at the two girls.  
"Nothing! C'mon we've GOT to stop this..." Mika mutterd as she grabbed Kento's wrist and pulling him towards school. Jessica and Rowen just laughed as if they knew something that only they knew.  
"Should we stop them?" Jessica laughed.  
"Nah, lets let them get all the way to school first. Then we'll slowly catch up and tell them then." Rowen said, smiling as the two slowly started to walk towards school. Mika and Kento were up so far ahead now that they didn't even see them anymore.  
Back at school, Mika stopped running and released Kento's wrist. "Hey, where is everybody?" she said, looking around frantically.  
"And where's Jessica and Rowen?" Kento added. "Oh, no, we're not so late that school has already started, are we?" he panicked.  
"Oh, God I hope not!!" Mika almost screamed as she grabbed Kento's wrist again and tried pulling him into the school building.  
"Mika! Kento, wait!!" they heard some voices calling to them from behind.  
"Huh? Jessica and Rowen?" Kento said, turning around.  
"Hurry up you two! We think that school has already started! We are waaay late this time guys!" Mika exclaimed.  
"What's this, Mika? You actually WANT to go to school? THAT's a first." Jessica said with a hint of a smile in her eyes.  
"Is there something that you two would like to let us in on?" Kento was starting to catch on that there was something going on. "There's something fishy going on here..." he said, peering at Jessica and Rowen.  
Jessica and Rowen tried to hide their smiles, but it became harder and harder at the sight of Mika and Kento flipping out at their being 'soo late' to school. "C'mon, guys, this isn't funny." Kento frowned.  
Jessica and Rowen couldn't hold it in any longer as they started laughing. "Huh? What's so funny..." Mika narrowed her eyes at the two. "I suspect something fishy is going on here, too, Kento... and I plan to find out. Ohh Jessica..." Mika said in a sing-song voice.  
Jessica almost immeaditely stopped laughing. She didn't like the sound of that voice Mika was giving her. "Nani...?" she said cautiously.  
"Would you like to let us in on something here?"  
That remark just made Jessica start laughing all over again. Between fits of laughter, all Jessica managed to get out was, "I pulled a you!!"  
All Mika could get out of it was, 'Oh my God what the hell did she pull on me? Dad is gonna hear about this when he gets home.' "NANI?" she screeched.  
"Rowen and I set all the clocks a half hour ahead so it would make it look like we were late when really we were early for a change!"  
This didn't make Mika or Kento any happier. "You did what?" they almost screamed but didn't, since some students were already arriving to school. "We'll deal with this later..." Mika hissed to Jessica as the rest of the guys showed up, including Sakura and Natsumi from Home Ec. Mika smiled upon seeing Natsumi.  
"Konichiwa!" she smiled.  
"Moshi!" Natsumi greeted her. "So how's it been? Looking forward to your detentions tomorrow?" she smiled.  
"Uh, not exactly. I mean... no, not at all!!" she wailed. "Please tell me why I have to be stuck in detention with... with HIM."  
Sakura walked up and placed a hand on her shoulder. "I feel your pain..." she faked sympathy.  
Mika just rolled her eyes. "Oh, sure you do! You don't have a Saturday detention with an APE! And a bottomless pit one at that!"  
"I heard my name..." Kento said, turning around. The girls just laughed. "Nani? What about me?"  
"Oh, nothing. Nothing at all Kento!" they laughed as the five minute bell rang, pulling the crowd of students into the building. "See ya at lunch, Mika!" Jessica called through the crowd to her sister.  
"Likewise! Bai Jessica!" she called as they turned down opposite hallways to their first hour classes.  
-[*]-  
Jessica sat in fifth hour Geometry tapping her pencil on her desk boredly. She stifled a yawn. 'This class is way too easy... and not to mention boring...' she said as she started to twirl her pencil between her fingers. Jessica took this moment to glance across the room at Rowen, who was also fiddling with his pencil at his desk as well. Geometry naturally came easy for them both, and Jessica already had her homework finished and ready to be turned in for Monday's class. The teacher had even given the class an extra page of homework to do since it was the weekend, and they had it all done already.  
Rowen looked up and caught Jessica's eyes. She smiled at him and mouthed, 'God, I am soo bored.' Rowen just smiled and nodded in return, just being polite since he really didn't understand what she was saying at all. Jessica just sighed and turned back to put her homework away when she got this feeling. Jessica sat straight up in her desk, all of her senses tuned in to whatever that weird vibe was. 'Oh, no,' she thought. 'Is it... n-no, it can't be...'  
Jessica was lost in thought as outside, on the P.E.'s ball diamond, disaster was starting to break out.  
  
-[*]-  
  
"Strike one!" the P.E. teacher shouted as the batter for the opposing team got another strike. Mika smirked as she jumped to catch the ball as it was returned to her by the catcher. Mika took the ball into her right hand and wound up, throwing the ball only to hear another, "Strike two!!"  
'Hai!! Yes yes yes!!' she shouted in her mind. 'Only one more to go! Woohoo!' Mika resisted doing her 'happy dance' right then and there on the pitcher's mound and wound up for the third strike. That would mean after this wimp struck out, she'd only have one more person to strike out.  
Mika shaded her eyes and looked at the group of people sitting in the dugout. '...and the next wimp to strike out would be... Ryo. Ryo?!? Oh, dear...' Mika turned back and tried to give the batter the easiest pitch she had. But, nontheless, he struck out. This time, Mika did nothing to hold back her 'happy dance' as she started to dance around on the pitcher's mound.  
"Hey, Mika!! Spare us and pitch me the ball, douzo!" Ryo shouted to her from behind home plate.  
"Baka! Alright, Mr. HotShot..." Mika smirked. "But remember that just because you're my friend doesn't mean that I'm going to go easy on you..."  
"Oh, yeah!" Ryo scoffed. "I'm sure about that! Let's see watchya got!" Ryo chocked up on the bat as Mika wound up and pictched the ball towards Ryo. The next thing Ryo knew was the self-satisified smirk of Mika as the coach yelled "Strike one!".  
"I let that one slide by. But I assure you that the next one won't get by so easy!!" Ryo shot to her.  
"Oh, yeah, I'm sure!! You just plain suck, Ryo Sanada, and you know it!!" the rest of the class laughed as the teacher narrowed his eyes at the feuding pair. Mika narrowed her eyes at Ryo as she pitched him her second strike.  
"Strike two!!"  
"Ha ha ha ha ha ha!!" Mika said in a sing-song voice. Ryo grew very annoyed by her. "If I didn't know any better, Ryo Sanada, I would swear that you just got another strike! You only have one more! Haha! I'd like to see you make an attempt to hit this one!" Mika said, pitching him his third ball.  
The next thing Mika knew was the 'crack!' of the bat hitting the ball, and the ball soaring far above her head and far into the outfield. Mika kicked the dust on the ground as she cursed to herself.  
"Ha ha ha ha ha! Whose laughing NOW, Mika Kenshin!!"  
"Obviously you!" she shot back to him as she reached up her gloved hand to catch the ball as it was thrown back to her from the third baseman. Suddenly, she felt the ground beneath her start to rumble. At first she thought it was just an earthquake, but as the quakes got bigger and bigger, she started to get frightened. "Wh-what is happening?" she yelled.  
"Mika! Come on!" she heard somebody yell from behind her.  
"Ryo?" she screamed. "Ryo!"  
Suddenly, the ground started to break as figures popped up from the ground, all clad in armor and weapons. Mika screamed as they started walking towards her slowly. "Help me! Somebody help me! Ryo!!"  
"Mika!" Ryo screamed as he ran up from behind her and grabbed her wrist, pulling her away from the hideous creatures.  
"What are those? Ryo, what were those things? Nothing like that ever happened in America!" she panicked.  
"Mika I-I don't know." Ryo lied. He couldn't tell her what was happening. She wouldn't believe him. Besides, if she knew... Ryo shook the thought from his head as he continued to lead her away from the creatures.  
Suddenly a dark figure appeard in front of them, trapping the two within a circle of the warriors. "Oh my God! Somebody help us!" Mika screamed, very near tears as the warriors continued to close in around them.  
"So nice to meet you again..." the larger of them said as they started to close in upon the two.  
  
-[*]-  
  
Jessica sat bolt upright in her desk again as one of the teacher aids ran into the room, worry spread all over her face. The two teachers stepped out of the room as Jessica ran up to look out the window. As she did, she gasped. There, out on the baseball diamond, were a whole slew of those warriors. She'd never seen anything like it in her life. And in the midst of it all was Mika and Ryo. "Mika!" Jessica exclaimed as she pushed her way out of the classroom in pursuit of her sister.  
Rowen noticed Jessica and jumped up to follow her. Down the hall they could hear the screams of frightened students as the halls were flooded with frightened people scrambling to get to the exits. "Jessica!" Rowen screamed after the girl. "Jessica wait!"  
Jessica turned her head around. She heard Rowen calling for her, but she didn't dare stop. She had to get out to Mika. She had to help her. But how? These things. They were scarier than even the closet monster when the girls were both five...  
Jessica shook the thought from her head as she reached an exit. Clawing her way through the crowd, she eventually made it to the exit and stormed down the steps and out into the sunshine. She only stopped for a second before spotting the baseball diamond once again. But before she could start towards it she felt a hand grab her wrist.  
"Jessica!! No you can't go out there! It's too dangerous!" Rowen said as he caught up to her.  
"Rowen! Rowen you just don't understand! Mika and Ryo... they're out there and they might get hurt! I need to help Mika and get them out of there!"  
"Do you want to end up in the same situation as those two?? Jessica! We can't just charge out there!"  
Jessica stared into his eyes a second before replying, "Watch me." Twisting her wrist free, Jessica started to run towards the baseball diamond once again.  
"Jessica!!" Rowen screamed after her. "Jessica no! Come back!!" But Jessica either didn't hear him or chose not to hear him because she still ran on ahead towards her sister. Out of the corner of his eye, Rowen saw something flash. Crouched low in the shadows of the building was an archer with an arrow aimed straight at Jessica. "JESSICA!!" he screamed, running towards her. Jessica stopped and spun around to face him as soon as Rowen plummeted into her, throwing her to the ground. The next thing she knew was that Rowen was on his knees, holding a warrior in front of him with an arrow coming out of his back. Rowen smirked.  
"Rowen please, I've got to help Mika!" Jessica cried, looking up at him. "I have to help her..."  
"Alright, come on," Rowen said, getting up and grabbing Jessica's wrist, pulling her with him towards the baseball diamond as an ear piercing scream lit through the air.  
"Mika!" Jessica gasped. "Oh, Mika please be ok!!" she said as the two raced towards the baseball diamond.  
Mika and Ryo were surrounded by a circle of the warriors. Ryo was trying to kick them away; his years in martial arts haven't paid off for nothing. And Mika tried to keep them away by punching or kicking the few who got too close to her. "Back OFF!" she screamed as she side kicked one in their thigh, sending them sprawling to the ground. Ryo had one around the neck, and a spilt second later it was laying on the ground behind him, unmoving.  
But despite their efforts, the circle kept getting smaller and smaller. 'I feel as if I'm... I'm going to suffocate! These goons are not giving up! But what more can I do??' she said as she ducked to avoid a punch thrown at her and landed one herself in his stomach as a thank you present. "Ha!" she smirked as she grabbed it by its arm and flipped it over her shoulder.  
Jessica and Rowen arrived at the outside of the circle. Warriors grabbed at her, but before they could grab her, Rowen picked her up by her waist and jumped above the crowd, landing on their heads and knocking a few of them down. Rowen set her down on the ground next to Mika, who shreiked and ran to her sister. Jessica grabbed Mika in a hug.  
"Mika please don't scare me like that again!" Jessica cried.  
"It wasn't like I planned this, you know. I would never EVER plan something like this. All I want to know is what the hell is going on!"  
As soon as the words left her mouth, Jessica gasped as a warrior came up from behind her and grabbed her up into the air. "JESSICA!!" Mika screamed, jumping up and preparing to get her sister back by any means necessary. Mika clenched her hand into a fist, when suddenly she remembered the baseball she was still holding from their game in P.E. earlier. Pulling her hand back as far as she could, Mika threw the ball towards the warrior with all her might.  
The ball hit the warrior with a sickening 'crack' against the side of his helmet. The warrior screamed in pain as he dropped Jessica and clutched his head in pain. Jessica fell to the ground but immeaditely jumped up and spun around, her foot landing hard against the side of the warrior's head. Jessica turned to her sister.  
"Wow... thanks Mika."  
"That's ok. Nobody can take off with my sister like that. Noone, except for me, that it." Mika had a smirk across her face. Jessica couldn't help but smirk herself.  
"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's recycle some tin cans!"  
Jessica and Mika looked to the left and right and saw Rowen and Ryo landing kicks and punches on the warriors left and right. 'Where is Cye, Kento, and Sage?' Ryo thought. 'I hope they didn't get captured in school... No!' Ryo immeaditely pushed the thought from his mind. 'They aren't THAT stupid, they're ok. They're probably in there taking care of some business in the school and they'll be here in a min.'  
The circle around them thinned and spread out. Rowen and Ryo had pushed their way through on one side and Jessica and Mika took the other. Suddenly, Ryo looked up and saw Cye, Kento, and Sage; all clad in their armor as Torrent, Hardrock, and Halo.  
"Rowen!" Ryo called to Rowen, "Help has arrived. It's time we help them out too." Rowen nodded as the two jumped up out of sight. Cye, Kento, and Sage came into the battle and started forcing the warriors back to where they came from.  
Mika turned around. 'Oh, no! Where did Rowen and Ryo go? They're not hurt, are they?' Just then, Mika noticed the three new warriors that had joined the battle. 'Holy crap! Where did they come from? Great, just what we need, more people to fight!! As if we weren't losing as it is!' Mika turned to face the three new warriors with a determined look on her face.  
Jessica turned and noticed Mika glaring at something. When Jessica realized what it was, she gasped. "M-Mika! Where did they come from??"  
"I don't know," she growled, "but I DO know where they're going..." she said, running towards them. She flipped over a warrior on the ground, grabbing his katana and landed on her feet, facing the three with the katana held out in front of her in a defensive gesture.  
"Wha- hey!" a voice who sounded like Kento said. "Mika! What are you doing? We're on your side!!"  
Mika narrowed her eyes. "Why should I believe you... and how do you know my name?"  
"Because it's me, Kento! And Cye and Sage also!"  
Mika narrowed her eyes further. "Prove it," she growled to him. "And don't pull any funny stuff either, mister, I'm trained in karate and Tai Kwan Do and I KNOW how to use this..."  
"You think THAT's good, you should see Ryo," the orange armored figure said as he removed his helmet. He was, indeed, Kento. "There, proof enough?" Mika gasped.  
"N-no... who ARE you?" Mika said in disbelief.  
"I'm Kento of the Hardrock... I'll explain later. Right now we have a bigger problem to worry about."  
Mika wasn't about to argue with him as she eyed his naginata that he was holding. "Y-yeah... we've got to exterminate some rodents..." she jumped and brought the katana down upon some warriors that were just about to jump her back.  
On the other side of the diamond, Jessica was having her own problems as light and dark blue armored figures appeared next to her and began throwing warriors off like it was an everyday task. Jessica took a step backwards and looked at them. 'Those faces...' she thought. 'They're so familier... yet it feels as if I don't know them at all... who ARE they?' Jessica decided that if they were a threat to her, that they would have attacked her a long time ago. She jumped in between them and started kicking away at the warriors.  
Mika looked for Jessica. "Jessica!" she screamed through the crowd. She just barely got a glimpse of her between the two blue armored figures. Mika swung her arm around, bringing it across the chest of a warrior then jumped to her sister, flipping and grabbing a katana from an attacking warrior as she went. "Thank you," she said as the warrior stopped and turned around to face Mika who was standing there grinning at him. "Oh, you want this? Sure here ya go..." she said, jabbing it through his gut. "Consider it my... gift. To you. Bai!" she said, flipping over to Jessica.  
"Mika!"  
"Yeah, hey, it looked as if you needed some help over here. So I brought you a gift."  
"How considerate of you. Did the warrior like the present you gave to him?" Jessica smiled.  
"He was just dying for it." Mika smirked as she handed Jessica the other stolen katana as the two twins jumped into full fledged battle. They've been trained before, but NEVER under conditions as this. They were being put to the ultimate test with these warriors, for there were no limits here, and noone to say stop when they couldn't take it.  
Suddenly Jessica tripped and fell to the ground as a warrior bent over and picked her up. "JESSICA!" Mika screamed, running to get her sister. "Take your hands OFF OF HER you beast! Or Else I'll take your arm for a trophy!!" Mika continued to run towards her sister as she felt something cold and hard wrap itself around her left ankle. Suddenly Mika slammed hard to the ground. "Kento!! Cye!! Somebody help us!!"  
Cye heard someone call his name. "Huh?" he said, lifting up his head to look around. He saw a warrior with Jessica over his shoulder and no Mika. "Mika? MIKA!!" he screamed, jumping over to where he last saw her. When he landed, he saw Mika on her back on the ground, her katana in the air blocking another warrior's sword that was almost brought down ontop of her. He spotted the chain around her foot and jumped to the warrior, jabbing his yari into its side and freeing Mika's ankle all in the same jump.  
Mika jumped to her feet. "Jessica! Cye, they've got Jessica!"  
Cye nodded. "Yes, I know. But Rowen's going after her. He's got her now."  
Mika's eyes popped open in suprise. "Rowen? He's one too? When are you guys going to explain this to me?"  
"Uh... and Ryo too. That's all. We'll tell you later." he said as he swung around, knocking off some warriors that had piled onto his back.  
  
-[*]-  
  
Jessica was thrown over the warrior's back, screaming and kicking. She screamed for help when suddenly a dark blue armored figure appeared next to her, picking up a bow and showering the warrior holding her captive with arrows. He fell to the ground and with him, Jessica. The figure jumped towards Jessica and caught her right before she fell onto the fallen warriors blade. Jessica gasped.  
"T-thank you. Arigato..." she said, peering into the figure intense blue eyes. "Do I... know you?"  
"No time for that," he said, setting her back down on her feet. Jessica looked around desperately for something, anything to use as a weapon. She spotted the sword of the warrior that held her hostage laying on the ground next to her. She bent to pick it up and ran into the battle once more. Although on the outside she was fighting, on the inside she was screaming with confusion. 'I know him... his face... his voice... his eyes. I've seen him somewhere before. But where?' she let out her anger on some nearby warriors. 'These warriors... these figures with the colored armor... it reminds me of a tale that my grandfather used to tell me when I was younger... about nine samurai...' Her thoughts were interupted by Mika.  
"Jessica! Jessica!" Mika ran towards her, crushing her in a huge hug. Jessica blinked. "They're gone, Jessica! They're gone!"  
"Wha- who? The warriors are gone?"  
"Yes! Where have you been?" Just then, Jessica noticed the five armored figure standing before them. Mika took a step towards the orange one.  
"So, uh, Kento is it? I think I'll be needing that explanation now..."  
As she said that, each one lifted their helmets and in a flash of light, their armors disappeared and was replaced with the same colored sub-armor. Jessica gasped. "Rowen? Ryo, Cye, Sage and Kento? Ok, now I'm confused. What is going on here?" Jessica arched her brow in confusion. 'The nine samurai... my grandpa... but there's only five here... oh, what were they called? I remember!'  
"Ronin Warriors!" Jessica exclaimed, startling them all.  
"What?" Mika said, glancing at Jessica with a raised eyebrow. "Oh, yeah! I remember now! Grandpa used to tell us stories about them when we were younger! I remember now!"  
"Uh, yeah, that's us. The Ronin Warriors." Kento laughed.  
"But what are you doing here? I mean... I don't know what I mean. I'm just so confused." Jessica said, looking once more at her friends and pinching her arm to make sure that what she was living wasn't just an awful nightmare. "Mika, do you know what's going on?"  
"Nope. Kento said he'd explain it to me though."  
"Well, your sister already has. That's all I had to explain." Kento looked down.  
"What about the warriors? You know, those creeps who just attacked our school and just about got us as well?" Jessica said.  
"Uh... well, we're just as clueless about them as you are, I'm afraid." Cye said.  
"We've got to get into the school and see if there's any survivors or anybody left around." Ryo said as the group started towards the exit that Jessica and Rowen had run out of earlier.  
Once inside the deserted school, they called out down the hallways for anybody who was still alive. "Hello? Is there anyone here?" Kento called. Cye smacked him on his back.  
"Uh, duh, obviously not."  
"Well, where did everybody go? One whole city can NOT just disappear like this," Mika said, looking around the hallway with contents from the classrooms spilling out into it. Overturned desks and chairs, books strewn everywhere, broken chalkboards, cracked windows, shards of glass everywhere.  
As the group walked down the hallway, Sage broke the silence. "So... where did you two learn those kick ass moves out there?" he wondered.  
"Huh? Oh, our grandpa taught us everything. He was like a martial artist or something like that. Except that we haven't been able to practice lately." Jessica explained.  
"Oh, no!" Mika exclaimed. "Dad! What about dad?" she cried.  
"Ohmygod! You're right. We've got to go to his office and see if he is alright!" Jessica said.  
"Uh, I'm sorry to put a damper on your already down mood, but if the entire school body just disappeared like it did, then I'm afraid that theres not much hope that the situation with your dad will be any different." Ryo said sadly.  
"N-no! He's just got to be ok!" Mika exclaimed, running out the door.  
"Mika!" Jessica called after her sister. When Mika refused to turn around, Jessica had no choice but to take off after her. By the time Jessica reached the doorway, Mika was already out if sight. Jessica stopped running, blinking away tears. "Mika..." she whispered.  
Rowen appeared behind her and placed a hand on her shoulder. Jessica turned and looked up at him. Rowen smiled. "Don't worry. By the looks of the way she took care of the warriors out there, she'll be fine. But we should go after her just in case."  
Jessica smiled. "Thanks, Rowen."  
The others walked up behind them and the group started down the street to Mika and Jessica's dads office building. "Wait!" she screamed, coming to a halt. "I suddenly remembered something. Dad had a day off today, so he would have been at home! And Mika knew that, too."  
"But she wasn't running in the direction of your house, Jessica." Kento said.  
"Yes, I know..." Jessica said, looking down. "I just hope... I just hope that nothing has happened to her."  
  
-[*]-  
  
Up ahead of the group, way up ahead of the group, was Mika. She was sitting on the bricks on the outside of her dad's office building, playing with a small copper fox when the group found her. All around were fallen warriors. Mika looked up when she heard approaching footsteps.  
Jessica came into view. "MIKA!" she screamed, running towards her sister and crushing her with a hug.  
"Jessica! Hey, I'm ok. Really, I am!"  
"What happened here?" Sage said, looking around at all the dead warriors.  
"Oh... the strangest thing happened... no stop it!" Mika laughed as the fox jumped up and started licking her face.  
"What is that? Where did you find this at?" Jessica said, smiling as she got smothered with sloppy kisses as well.  
"I was running to dad's office when I heard this yipping noise. So I stopped and looked around and saw him standing on the side of the road. Suddenly I heard some warriors yell and come up from behind me, their arrows already released in a dead course straight towards me. But this little guy here, he jumped up next to me and the arrows all recoursed and went around me, circling and striking the warriors instead." Mika rubbed the fox's chin.  
"Not even MY arrows can do that!" Rowen said.  
"Yeah, I know. I am still totally confused as to what exactly happend here..." Mika trailed off.  
"Uh, Mika, did you remember that today was dad's day off and he was at home today? He was at the house, Mika, not at his office!" Jessica exclaimed.  
"That's right!" Mika said, standing up and cradling the tiny fox in her arms. "We need to go back home anyways. There's a few things that I need to get from my room."  
"I guess we could go back to your house." Ryo said.  
"Mia!" Sage suddenly exclaimed. "We need to go find Mia!"  
"That's right!" Cye spoke up. "She may know something about this sudden attack."  
"It's a shame that we haven't been keeping in touch with her as much as we should have been. Maybe then we may have known something about this attack in advance and not have been soo offguard when they attacked." Rowen added.  
"Yeah, but first I guess we'll go by their house and get their stuff." Kento said as the group started walking back down the street, plus one yipping fox jumping at their heels.  
In front of their house, it seemed to Jessica as if nothing had happend at all. Everything seemed as if nothing had happend. Jessica fished around for her housekey and slipped it into the doorknob, slowly pushing open the door and stepping into the dimly lit room, Mika right behind her.  
They walked slowly into the kitchen, where sitting on the table was a newspaper and a cup of coffee, the cup of coffee still warm. Jessica held back tears as she picked up the cup and gingerly held it between her hands. Mika held back tears also as she looked around the kitchen, a pot on the stove was still on with water boiling in it. She walked over and turned the burner off, watching the pot as the bubbles slowly receeded then stopped altogether. Mika turned away from the stove and faced her sister.  
"I need to go upstairs..." she said as she slowly ascended the stairs that she had just descended that morning. Not too long ago. Before all this trouble had started and now her dad... everyone was gone. Mika reached her room and looked at her unmade bed, still the same as it was when she had left it this morning. She looked around for her tan knapsack in her closet and unpacked boxes. She heard someone rummaging through Jessica's room next to hers. Thinking it was Jessica, Mika shrugged it off and continued her search for her tan leather knapsack.  
Jessica sat downstairs and went through the cabinets, picking out dried and canned food for their journey. She bent to pick up her knapsack that was laying ontop the unpacked boxed stuff in the kitchen. How it got there, she didn't know. She thought she had left it up in her room that morning. 'Oh well,' she thought, 'It doesn't really matter now. All that matters is what happend and what is about to happen. Our future.'  
Mika came back down the steps with her knapsack in her hand. "Jessica, I found my knapsack also. I thought your was in your room?" she said more as a statement than as a question.  
"Yeah, that's what I thought, also."  
"Don't you remember going up to your room to get it?"  
"What are you talking about?" Jessica said suddenly, looking up from her knapsack filled with dried food and canned goods. "I haven't gone upstairs since we left for school this morning. I haven't been up there yet."  
"Oh. Well then was someone else up there in your room then? Because I could have sworn that I heard somebody up there rummaging around while I was looking for MY knapsack." Mika said slowly. "You don't suppose that..."  
"Oh, no. They can't be here!" Rowen suddenly gasped from the base of the steps. "I hear noises coming from up there, also, but we're all down here!"  
"That's not good, man!" Kento said under his breath.  
"No DUH it's not good!" Sage growled to Kento. "God, you're so shallow!"  
"Uh, me?"  
Sage threw up his hands in anger as he stormed away from him and started helping Jessica and Mika pack up for the trip.  
"What else do you guys think that we'll need?" Mika looked up to the group.  
"Uh... matches, blankets, flashlights... batteries... anything that looks useful and as if we may need it." Ryo told her.  
"Alright. guys, just walk around the house and pick up anything that you think will be useful," Mika said, helping Jessica pack food up into her knapsack. "Oh, wait"! she exclaimed, disappearing back up the stairs. "I forgot something, be right back!"  
Jessica sighed and finished putting the food into her knapsack. She knew what Mika was going back up there for. Her headphones and collection of CD's. 'I should have yelled after her to grab some of mine,' Jessica thought as she zipped up her knapsack, 'but we don't need them, and I don't know when I'm ever going to be able to listen to them. But, knowing Mika...'  
Suddenly, a piercing scream came from Mika's room upstairs. "Mika!" Jessica screamed, immeaditely forgetting her knapsack and dropped it as she ran upstairs. Kento, spotting the knapsack full of food fall towards the ground, dove to catch it before anything was crushed.  
"Phew!" he said, wiping his brow as he saw that all the contents inside were ok. then he put on his battle face as he ran upstairs with Jessica and Mika. "Armor of Hardrock...!" he started, and the others soon followed by summoning their armors.  
At the top of the stairs, Jessica saw her door burst open and fly across the hall, ripped from its hinges and Mika went out with the door, hitting the opposite wall and onto the ground. She immeaditely jumped back up to face whatever monster that was in her room. "Mika!" Jessica called out to her sister.  
Appearing on the steps behind Jessica were Rowen, Cye, Kento, Sage, and Ryo. The monster in her room slowly walked out to face the rest of the newcomers.  
"Oh, no!" Kento cried. "More dynasty creeps!"  
"Actually, for your benefit, I came alone because I knew that you couldn't handle more than one of us. I didn't want to overwhelm you with our awesome power... just yet." he said as he lunged towards Kento. Kento jumped to his left, narrowly dodging him, and the warrior crashed into the open linen closet that Kento was standing in front of.  
The warrior howled in anger and turned back towards the five samurai in their armor. "So you think you're such hot stuff, do you?" he snarled, "I will let you know right here and now just how great our power can be"! and with that, the warrior drew from behind him a glowing sword vibrating with a great energy.  
"What is that?" asked Sage, taking a step back towards the girls.  
"This? Ha! Allow me to show you just what it is that is does..." the warrior swung the sword out in front of him, sending forth a great blast of energy. The warriors all cried as they flew against the wall and the girls screamed as they, too, were flung down the hallway and into the bathroom at the end. Jessica was thrown against the bathroom sink and having hit her head, she fell to the ground unconscious.  
Mika looked up as she heard another great blast shoot from the warriors sword, engulfing the five samurai and suspending them in the air, surrounded by the bright green aura, the five screaming with pain all the while.  
The warrior chuckled to himself. "Oh, what to do, what to do, what to do?" he said, amused with himself for capturing the five so easily. "I don't know, I guess I'll just have some fun!" he laughed as he drew back his hand then flung it forward, throwing the five through the second story wall and onto the ground below.  
Mika cowered in the bathroom, hoping to be hidden by the shadow of the open door. Hoping not to be seen by the dynasty warrior. "Please don't see me, please, don't hurt my sister!" she silently whispered to herself as the warriors heavy footsteps drew closer and closer still. She watched as his figure appeared in the doorway then walked past, seeming to not have noticed them at all.  
Ryo looked up from the ground as the warrior appeared in the hole of the second-story wall. Effortlessly, he jumped to the ground landing right before the five samurai. He took one step to Ryo and lifted him from the ground by only his helmet up to meet his face.  
"Hello Wildfire..." he snarled into his face. Ryo couldn't help but wincing at the stench of his breath. "Do you have any last words..." he continued.  
Suddenly, they heard a great roar as a giant white tiger leapt onto the scene, biting into the back of the warrior's neck. The warrior screamed out in pain and dropped Ryo, who fell to his knees in front of the warrior.  
Mika looked up from the bathroom. 'What was that? What's going on here?' she thought to herself as she stood up and peered out the gaping hole in the wall.  
Down below on her front lawn, a huge white tiger had appeared and apparently just saved Ryo's life. "What IS that?" she said, squinting to get a better look.  
Something caught her eye as Mika rose her eyes to the tops of the trees. Something silver, something shiney was flying straight towards them. The object grew closer and Mika could see what it was now. A small silverish-white owl. The owl flew across her front lawn and in through the hold which Mika was standing in and continued on to the bathroom. Mika ran in after the owl.  
Once there, Mika gasped. The owl had landed on her sister and she had started to glow with a faint white light. The light cleared and Mika heard a moan come from her sister as the owl flew up and perched on the towel rack above the sisters.  
"Jessica! Oh, Jessica! Are you alright?" Mika said as she fell to her knees, gathering her sister in a hug.  
Jessica returned the hug then pulled away, looking around. "Where are we? How did we get in HERE?" Mika laughed.  
"You had a pretty big hit there," Mika said, helping her sister to her feet. Once up, Jessica turned around and came face to face with the silverish-white owl. Upon seeing him, Jessica about jumped out of her skin as she barely held back a scream.  
"Wha - what is that thing? What is it doing in here? How did it GET in here?"  
"Ummm... if you think that this is bad, then don't walk out into the hallway..."  
"I don't want to know."  
"Well, tough, we've got to go help the guys," Mika said, leading Jessica out of the bathroom and into the hallway by her elbow. Jessica gasped.  
"What happend to the wall??" she exclaimed.  
"Uh, WHAT wall?"  
"Don't be funny, Mika. You know that if dad was here, he wouldn't be exactly to happy with this. Man, this kind of repair would leave a MAJOR dent in his wallet!!"  
Down below they heard another great roar as the white tiger was thrown from the warrior and hit hard on a tree. But he jumped back up onto his feet and lunged at the warrior once more, never giving up. "Come on!" Jessica cried, grabbing Mika's wrist and running with her down the steps and out the garage door onto the front lawn. They got there just in time to see a flurry of the groups sure kills. Choruses of "Thunderbolt Cut!" "Iron Rock Crusher!" "Arrow Shock Wave!" "Super Wave Smasher!" "Flare Up Now!" could be heard all in unison as all attacks surged up and hit the warrior with one big blast. The smoke cleared and the warrior lay there on the front lawn, lifeless. Jessica gave a breath of relief as they ran towards the five who were powering down to their subarmor.  
"You won! You won!" Mika cried, her and Jessica hugging onto them alike. Jessica turned her head towards the side of the house as she saw two figures approaching them from the shadows.  
"Yikes!" she shreiked, pointing towards the figures.  
Ryo squinted in the direction that Jessica was pointing in, trying to decide if they were friend or foe. When the figures came into the clearing, Jessica could see that they didn't look like enemies at all. In fact, one was a woman with light brown hair with her hand on the shoulder of a young boy with dark hair walking next to her. Ryo smiled upon seeing the two. "Mia! Yulie!"  
Mia smiled as Yulie dropped her hand and ran towards the five shouting stuff like 'Where were you? We were looking all over for you!' and 'What happend? Kento do you have any food?'. To that, Jessica had to laugh. Mika smiled as the boy made a beeline towards Kento and hugged onto his legs. After letting go of Kento's legs, the boy immeaditely ran over to the white tiger and wrapped his arms around the great beasts neck, who purred in contentment.  
"White Blaze! Are you ok? I was so worried about you! Good 'ol White Blaze for kicking that mean 'ol dynasty creep's butt!"  
Ryo turned to Mia as she walked up to the group, smiling at Yulie who was riding around on White Blaze's back, despite the cut in his front leg. Mia stopped as Ryo introduced Mika and Jessica to Mia. "Mia, this is Jessica and Mika, our friends from school who have, unfortunately, been caught up in this whole mess."  
"Yes, its a shame. And, once again, Yulie and I are the only ones left as well." Mia said, watching the boy with a small smile on her face as he continued to ride around on White Blaze's back.  
"So, Mika..." Kento said, "just what WERE you going to get from your room upstairs, anyways?"  
"Well, uh... umm... "Mika trailed off. The group looked at her with amused faces.  
"I know what she went to get," Jessica said, stepping forward. "She went upstairs to her room to get her headphones and collection of CDs." she smirked.  
"What? What do you need THOSE for, Mika?" Ryo asked, a little annoyed. "This isn't a party you know." He crossed his arms in front of him.  
"Well maybe I like to listen to my music!" Mika said, quick to defend herself.  
"Oh? Is that so?" Ryo said, uncrossing him arms and leaning towards her. "Let me tell you one thing, Mika Kenshin, that when we're out there fighting the dynasty, you will NOT have time to 'listen to your music'!"  
"I can do whatever I damn well please!! I don't need you to boss me around, I don't have to come with you at all!! I am perfectly capable of defending myself!! Besides, who died and made YOU king?" she said, glaring at him all the while.  
"You are perfectly NOT capable of fighting the dynasty! You have NO CLUE of what you're up against!" he cried, taking a step closer. That comment made Mika stop and Jessica noticed something in her eyes. Not anger, but something else. Hurt?  
"Ryo! Mika! You two, just stop!" Cye said, coming up between the two. "We don't need this kind of thing going on right now. We've got a bigger problem to solve without you two about ready to rip each other to pieces!" he said, taking Mika by the shoulders and pulling her away towards Jessica. Mika looked over her shoulder at Ryo all the while Cye was leading her away. Still, there was no anger in her eyes.  
Jessica was confused as Cye brought Mika up to her. Ryo was with Kento, Rowen, and Sage, who were trying to cool him down.  
"I'm sorry, you two. I don't know WHAT got into him... I really don't know what you did to make him so mad!! That's not like Ryo."  
"It's ok Cye, thanks. We'll just give him some time to cool down. I've never seen him act like this, though I've only known him for like a week. But still, Ryo doesn't seem like the kind of person who would just blow up over something like that." Jessica said. Mika just stood there listening to the two talking.  
"I'm going to go over and see how Ryo's doing, if he's cooled off any yet." Cye said, heading over to the guys.  
When his back was to them, walking away, Jessica turned to Mika. "What is it?? Come on, Mika, I know that look. After that last comment that he made to you... I don't know but you just seemed like you changed... I know, I must sound silly..."  
Mika looked up at Jessica, the same look still in her eyes. "I - I know, Jessica. That last comment that he made, telling me that I'm not capable fighting against the dynasty... that I don't have any clue about what we're up against... The truth is, Jessica, is that he is right. But... I just want to get dad back so much..." she said softly.  
Jessica lowered her eyes. "I know. I miss him a lot. I hope that he's ok. But... don't worry we'll get him back. You of all people should know that!! And Rowen, Cye, Sage... the guys will help us. You know they will. Ryo too."  
"But he's still pissed at me... I really do not know what I did wrong!"  
"You didn't do a thing wrong, Mika. It's just... maybe he is having a bad day or something... I don't know."  
"Yeah..."  
The two girls looked up and saw White Blaze and Yulie running towards them, the boy still on the beast's back. "Whoa, boy!" Yulie cried and White Blaze halted to a stop right in front of the two girls. Jessica couldn't help but crack a smile as Yulie shreiked and wraped his arms around his neck, desperately trying to hold on as the sudden stop almost lurched him forward onto the grass in front of Mika's feet.  
When Yulie realized that he was still on White Blaze, and intact, he looked up with a sheepish grin and laughed, one hand behind his head, a pose that he picked up from Kento. Suddenly, White Blaze started to growl at something in the bushed behind Jessica and Mika and jumped forward, knocking Yulie off of him head over heels.  
Mika slightly laughed and kneeled down to the boy's side who was rubbing the back of his head. "Are you ok?" she said, a small smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.  
When Jessica realized that the growl coming from White Blaze was growing more threatening, she jumped back and turned around, facing the bush. The bush started to move slightly, and out came a tumbling ball of copper fur.  
"Yikes!" Jessica shreiked and jumped almost mile-high. "What IS that thing?!" she cried. Mika, startled, turned around when the ball of fur rolled right into her lap. The ball of fur jumped up and started attacking her face with wet sloppy kisses.  
"Mischief!" she giggled.  
"Mischief? You mean that ball of fur has a NAME?" Jessica cried from behind White Blaze. White Blaze just purred and rubbed up against Mika, sniffing at the ball of fur still laying in her lap.  
"Ball of fur? No!" she laughed. "It's the fox from earlier! Remember?"  
"Huh? Oh, yeah. Heehee. What about that owl that was up in the bathroom earlier? Where did he come from?" Jessica asked, coming out from behind White Blaze slowly.  
"Uh... up. Look up." Mika said, pointing up above Jessica's head. Jessica's eyes grew large as she slowly rose her face to meet the round, black eyes of the silver owl perched directly above her head on the tree branch.  
"Ack!! I do not like being stared at twenty-four hours a day by that... that bird!! It SCARES me!"  
"Oh Jessica get over it!" Mika laughed. The guys, sensing the commotion, walked over to the girls and laughed at the site.  
"What is going on here?" Rowen said, walking up beside Jessica, whose eyes were fixated on the bird above her in the tree. Rowen rose his eyes up to meet the bird's, and after realizing there was an owl up there, he turned back to Jessica and said, "You know, it's not really a wise thing to stand directly underneath that..."  
Jessica looked down at Rowen and wrinkled her nose. "Eeew!! You just HAD to say that, didn't you?"  
"Hey!" they heard Mika shreik. "Get down from there!!" Jessica laughed as she saw Mischief promptly crawl up Mika's shirt, then popping up from her neck.  
"Mika!! You've got two heads?" Kento said.  
"Noo!! Get out of there!! That tickles!!" she said, laughing. Ryo, who couldn't stay mad at someone for too long, cracked a small smile, but tried not to let the other guys see it.  
"Huh?? Ryo!! What is that?" Sage said, turning around and shoving his index finger in Ryo's face, pointing directly at him. "What was that I just saw?? Was that a... a SMILE?"  
Ryo, for a second, was taken aback until he realized what Sage had said. "Oh... no... you're just seeing things Sage... heh..."  
Sage just shrugged, then when his guard was down, Ryo caught him in a headlock and gave him a noogie until he had Sage laughing so hard he was crying and pleading for him to let him go. Only until Ryo let Sage go did he realize that everyone standing there was staring right at him, including White Blaze, Mischief, and the silver owl perched up in the tree. Ryo quickly shoved him hands in his pockets, turned his head to the right, and started to whistle Dixie.  
  
========================================  
Ronin Babes is © Hoshi-chan (hoshi@hashiba.net).  
DO NOT alter this story or take it and say its yours!  
I worked hard writing it. So yeah. And if you want a  
sneak peek at the third chapter, then go to:  
http://Touma.IsCute.com  
Arigato and ja ne! ^_^


	3. Default Chapter Title

**.:Jessica and Mika: Ronin Babes:.  
Part III: Unearthly Posessions  
**By: Hoshi-chan and Akuma-chan

The group of now twelve; five Ronins, Mia, Yulie, Mika, Jessica, and who can forget Mischief and that annoying owl, and White Blaze, walked down along deserted streets. Every now and then they passed by a bike left resting against a lightpost, or a pool left abandoned in someone's backyard.

Jessica glanced behind her, her eyes immeaditely finding the small owl that insisted on following her every move. She cursed silently under her breath. 'Gods, he is worse than my dad was!'

"Say something, Jessica?" Mika asked, looking up at her.

"No, nothing. Except for that damned owl... does he have to keep following me? I don't like being stared at all the time. I was too old for babysitters six years ago, I don't need one now."

"Ok, ok. You don't need to snap at me I just asked a simple question." Mika muttered something else that Jessica couldn't decipher. Then she turned to Ryo. "So, Ryo, where exactly are we going to now, anyway?"

"Over to Mia's."

"Man, what a way to spend a perfectly good weekend..." Mika groaned.

"Well, there is a good side to it," Jessica started to say.

"Oh, yeah, sure. What can be more pleasant than fighting off a bunch of monsters from who knows where? Oh, sure." she said, throwing her hands up in the air in disgust.

"Let's just put it this way. At least you don't have Saturday detention with Kento now." Jessica said, trying to cheer her sister somewhat up.

"I think I'd rather take detention with or without Kento over THIS anyday." she growled.

"Hey! Me too!" Kento said, suddenly appearing behind Mika who jumped and turned around. Mischief, sensing that Kento had somehow upset his master, jumped between the two facing Kento and yipping his little head off. Kento turned and gave the fox a face. Mika sighed and bent down to pick him up.

"God Kento, don't you know that ugly monsters scare him?" Mika said sarcastically to him then turned to catch up with the others.

Kento growled under his breath and followed Mika back to rejoin the group. Mika looked over at Jessica and tried not to laugh at the look on her face. That owl watching her every move was clearly annoying her and made her nervous. It was enough that the two had their dad looking after them every two minutes... their dad... _'We'll get you back dad... I promise...'_ Mika silently vowed to herself and she walked up alongside Jessica.

"Well... if having a Saturday detention meant that none of this would happen, you'd take the Saturday, right Jessica?"

Jessica gaver her a confused look and replied with a suprised tone of voice, "Well, yeah! Sure! Why wouldn't I? Unless I like the silent deadly life where death is hovering around every corner."

"Hmmm... but what if it was with Kento? Then what would you do?"

Jessica playfully punched her sister's shoulder. "Mika Kenshin! What has gotten into you!" She lowered her voice and then continued. "We hardly even know these guys! I mean, they're nice and all, but we've hardly known them a week..."

"So?" Mika shrugged again then bent down, letting Mischief jump out of her arms onto the ground. He immeaditely ran up to Kento, begging for food. Jessica and Mika watched and laughed as Kento quickly shoved what little food he had in his mouth. Mischief growled at him then wandered over to Ryo, hoping once again to get a bite to eat.

Jessica, seeming to have forgotten about the owl for the time being, walked up to Cye as the group headed into some woods. "So... where is Mia's house, anyway?" she said, falling in step beside him.

"Oh. Well, it's farther into the woods. We go there a lot... It's like a place where we can go to when we want to think. Especially a year ago when Talp-" he suddenly stopped talking.

"What? What's 'Talp'?" she inquired.

"It's... well... nobody. I forgot what I was going to say is all. That was awhile ago."

"So let me get this straight. Some evil dudes start popping up out of the ground like daisies and suddenly you guys appear wrapped in aluminum foil and save the city?"

"Well... that's pretty much it. But it goes deeper than that. We didn't choose to do this. We were chosen."

"Chosen?"

"It's... well lets just say its a long story... a very long story. And, well, that was just a horrible time for all of us. We thought we had defeated the evil. But I guess we guessed wrong and underestimated him once again."

"Him? Who's him? And what happened?" Jessica was confused. She wanted to know why, suddenly, these guys that she's hardly known for a week just appear with some mystical armor and suddenly all the evil people disappear. And why was Cye avoiding the subject so much?

_'That's it!'_ Jessica snapped her head up, remembering something from about a year ago that had happened in Japan. '_Something about... mystical armors? But nobody remembered anything... The entire city..._' The news broadcast wasn't clear and she wasn't really paying much attention at the time. That was the night that her dad had come home from work so happy... come home from work with his 'good news'... that they were packing up and moving to Japan so suddenly.

"Nothing, Jessica. Let's just drop it, ok?"

Jessica stopped and stared at him. It was so unlike Cye to be like this. She quickly shrugged it off. _'Maybe its just a touchy subject and he doesn't want to talk about it. No matter, I'll just talk to Rowen or Ryo and find out later_'

Before she realized it, they were standing in front of a two story house surrounded by trees. Mia walked up and unlocked the front door, letting the rest in behind her. Once inside, they all sat in the livingroom, Kento dove for the couch and lounged across it. Mika walked in and immeaditely noticed Kento hogging the whole couch to himself. So she walked over and sat down - right on his stomach.

"Oomp..." He said, trying to push her off his stomach. "Get... get off!"

"No, actually," she said, bouncing a little, "this is quite comfortable."

"Well that ain't no six pack he's packing there." Rowen said, walking into the room.

"It is so!" they heard a muffled voice say from under a pillow that Mika had so conviently placed there.

"Aaahhh..." she said, resting her head on the pillow.

"Gt fff!!" they heard Kento say. All they could see of him was his arms and legs. Suddenly, Kento grabbed ahold of Mika's shoulders and shoved her off him onto the floor. Mika landed with a _thud!_

"Phew..." Kento said, his face a little red.

"Man, whatcha go n do THAT for?" Mika whined. "I was getting comfortable!"

"Not ontop me!!"

"This isn't YOUR house!"

"So? It isn't yours, either!"

"Well, duh! And the Mr. Obvious of the year award goes to Kento Rei Faun!"

"Oh, so I'm Mr. Obvious now, am I?"

"Do you need hearing aids or are you just plain deaf?"

"GUYS! GUYS!" Mia shouted, coming back into the room with a tray of hot tea and sandwiches. Mika and Kento stopped arguing abruptly and stared at Mia, Mika still sitting on the floor and Kento half hanging off of the couch. "Kento, you know the rules." Mia sighed.

"Yeah yeah yeah..." he grumbled and slid over on the couch, leaving room for two more people. Mika smirked and sat down on the couch on the other end as far away from him as possible. And to fill the gap in the middle, Mischief barked and jumped up, making himself comfortable as he laid down.

"Oh, I see... the fox gets priority over me!" Kento fumed again.

"Hey! Don't say things about Mischief!"

"Oh, but I just did!"

The two continued arguing again, their faces two inches from each other, hovering over Mischief. Mischief whined and buried his face in his paws. And when that didn't work, he barked and jumped off the couch, running to Cye and jumped up in his lap. He buried his face in Cye's shirt, and Cye laughed.

"Hey, it's ok. You'll see worse battles than these two are having right now. This is NOTHING compared to-" he stopped abruptly as he glanced up and saw Jessica listening to him talk to Mischief, her cup of tea stopped right below her mouth. Cye looked away and continued watching Mika and Kento's fight.

"MISCHIEF CAN FOLLOW ME IF HE WANTS!"

"NO, HE CAN'T!"

"YES HE MOST CERTAINLY CAN!"

Mia sighed and dropped wearily down into an overstuffed arm chair. The others all had their eyes trained on the feuding two.

"Man, if this is what's gonna happen the whole time they're together... then..." Ryo laughed. "Well, I'd have to kill myself from torture."

"Yeah," Sage agreed with him. "They're worse than ME and Kento!"

"IF YOU LAY A HAND ON-"

"I WOULDN'T WANT TO TOUCH YOUR STINKING FOX!!"

"FINE THEN! I DON'T WANT YOU POISONING HIM..."

"Hmm... I'm thinking that now is about the right time to head outside," Jessica suggested and stood up. Mia seemed to like the idea and stood up. "Anyone else?"

Rowen, Ryo, Cye, and Sage all turned from the fight and looked at Jessica. "No way! We've got front row tickets to the next Jerry Springer!" They turned around again just in time to see Kento kissing Mika.

Mika's face grew bright red as she jumped up from the couch. "WHY YOU LITTLE _PERVERT!!_" She screamed as she looked for something heavy and sharp to hit him with.

Kento fell back onto the couch laughing. "Ha ha ha ha..." he said, laughing so hard, tears were falling from his eyes. "You should see the look... on you face..." When he reopened his eyes from laughing, he saw the point of a poker shoved in his face.

"HOLY SHIT!" he yelled and jumped up from the couch, knocking over a table and lamp and he ran from Mika.

"Oh, but Kento! I'm just a girl, remember?" Mika mocked him as she chased him around the living room. Kento suddenly switched his route and darted out of the livingroom, heading towards the steps leading to the upper floor. Jessica turned to Mia.

"I think I'm ready to go outside now, don't you? Don't worry, this is just a phase of hers that doesn't last very lo-"

There was suddenly a very large crash from upstairs. Nobody thought much of it until they heard a scream. A very terrified scream. Mika's scream. Jessica immeaditely bolted to the stairs, running up them two at a time.

"Well? You're not gonna let her go up there by herself, are you?" Cye said, standing up and knocking a sleeping Mischief onto the floor. He ran to the stairs and was quickly upstairs, the others right on his tail. At the top, they looked around.

"W-where is she? Where are they?" he frantically said, looking around. There was alot of glass all over the floor.

"Is that... is that..." Ryo said, peering at some dark spots on the rug.

"Oh my god..." Cye said, following the trail of blood with his eyes. It led to the window.

"JESSICA!" Rowen screamed as his eyes fell upon the evil warriors crowded in the shadows near the window. Jessica was bent over the broken window... reaching for someone. Her hands and knees were cut and bleeding from sitting on the broken shards of glass. She looked up when she heard her name, but it was too late. A warrior darted out from the shadows and shoved her. Shoved her out the window.

"Noo!" Ryo screamed. "TO ARMS! Armor of Wildfire... dao JIN!" the three others followed his example. "FLARE UP... NOOOWW!!" he said, aiming his attack at the hidden monsters in the shadows. It did little to them, though, as the attack fell through to the wall and practically destroyed the whole upper level.

Sage ran over to the window as soon as he saw that Ryo, Rowen, and Cye had the warriors under control. He leaned over the frame, broken glass falling out. The glass crunched under the combined weight of him and his armor and he frantically looked below for them. He had seen Jessica here... he had seen her fall... and she hadn't just been leaning out the window grabbing at nothing. Mika had to have been there, too.

But where were they?

They weren't there.

Neither was Kento.

_'This isn't good...'_ Sage stood up, looking out of the window and looking once again, for something, _anything_, that told of their wherabouts. Suddenly, some leaves fell from the roof. _That's funny_, he thought. _There's not a breeze... and the trees aren't over on this side of the house..._ Sage once again leaned out of the window and looked up, this time staring right into the face of a warrior.

"YOU!!" he screamed as he held on to the top of the window frame and flipped up onto the roof, landing next the five or so warriors surrounding an unconscious Jessica and Mika. "What have you done to them?" he shouted.

"Oh... but we haven't done anything... yet." the taller of them said.

"If you so much as touch a hair on their heads..."

"Oh, you mean like this?" he said and walked over to the two girls, grabing a fistfull of both of their hair and tugged at it hard, lifting both girl's heads up off the ground.

"You BASTARD!" he screamed.Then he charged at him, his swords poised above his head and he jumped, high into the air, and came down upon... nothing. "Where'd he go?" he said, standing back up and turning around. They were gone. Every one of them.

They just vanished.

Suddenly, the floor below him started to give way and he dove for more stable roofing. But something - some_one_ - grabbed his foot, making him crash to the ground, his no datchi thrown from his hand out of reach as he was pulled back down into the house.

He landed in darkness, but he could hear the voices of his friends. "Ryo! Rowen! Cye! Where are you?" He ran towards the voices, until darkness gave way to light. He stopped and let his eyes adjust to the light and looked around him with a suprised look on his face. He was outside. How did he get here? "RYO! CYE! ROWEN!" he shouted again, hoping that someone would hear him. He turned around and stood facing Mia's house. _That's impossible,_ he thought, _There is no way that I could have ended up here. I was on the roof!! The roof!! Then I was inside the house... I couldn't have ended up here from where I was... I'm too far away from the house!_

Then, right before his eyes, he saw her. Mika. She was fighting someone, but had broken away. Sage started to run towards her, but something held him back. This feeling. Something told him that something bad was going to happen. Something very, very bad.

So he stood there. Stood there and watched. Stood there and waited.

Then the house started to move. Move as it was not meant to move. _Something is wrong... something is terribly wrong..._

Something flashed in the corner of his eye as he saw the warrior holding Jessica prisioner. His back was to Sage. Sage took no chances and ran up behind him, grabbing the long, thin sword from the warrior's back and slammed it in his back, completely through to his chest. The warrior gasped, dropping Jessica as he grabbed the blade sticking through in front. Sage took no chances as he put his hands together and brought them down hard upon the warrior's head. The impact leaving a rather large dent in his head. And Sage knew that he had broken his skull.

He picked Jessica up and turned, just in time to see the house collapse. Collapse ontop of Mika. Mika has still been fighting with that warrior... he had held her there. And now... now she was dead.

He squeezed his eyes shut, blinking back tears. Then, in a burst of anger and hatred, he shouted, shouted so loud until his throat burned. "YOU WILL PAY FOR THIS!! I SWEAR IT!! YOU WILL PAY!!"

-[*]-

"Ryo!" Rowen shouted to Ryo, who was fighting next to him. "Where's Sage? He was just here...!"

"Don't worry," Ryo said, shoving his katana into some warriors and punching some more to the ground. "He went to look for Kento, Jessica, and Mika."

Rowen looked up just as a warrior slammed into him, making him lose his balance and the two toppled to the ground and slid precariously close to the broken window. The broken window that four people had now disappeared through. Regaining his grip on his bow, he moved his hand and bow out from underneath him and slammed it into the warrior's back ontop of him. The warrior went limp, and Rowen shoved him off. But he was, once again, caught off guard by three or four warriors who were running at him. He stepped back to avoid getting hit, but he had forgotten about the broken window there. His foot found nothing solid to stand on, as he put all his weight onto that one foot, he tumbled and fell out the two story building.

But he knew he would live.

After all, that's what his armor was for.

But the fall was taking too long. It was taking longer than it normally should for a fall from a two story window.

Finally, he landed, the grass dulling the thud of his armor. And he stood up and looked from where he had just fallen and gasped. The house... he had fallen from the window. He should only be a foot or two away from the house.

And yet he was near the edge of the woods.

_What is going on?_ He thought. He looked around and spotted someone else on the other side of the yard, near the edge of the woods, also. _Who is that?_ he said, squinting to see. _Sage! Sage and... and Jessica!_ Rowen started to run towards Sage when a huge noise caused him to turn back to the house. "MIKA!" he shouted as he saw her standing right by the house. The house had collapsed. And Mika was buried beneath the rubble. "NOOO! MIKA!"

There was no way anyone could have survived a two story building falling ontop of them.

They just couldn't.

Could they?

-[*]-

"Cye! Rowen! Rowen, wheres Rowen?" Ryo shouted above the loud sound of clashing swords and metal.

"Ryo! Over here! Hurry up!" Cye yelled, sticking his yari through a warrior, then while it was stuck in its chest he flipped it over his head onto the ground behind him. He ran up next to Ryo, hitting off warriors as he ran. What started out as an innocent fight between Mika and Kento had turned to... _murder?_ He thought. _Manslaughter... are we doing the right thing? But we killed him so many years ago... we made sure he was dead this time..._

Then a new voice entered his mind. A voice he had never heard before. A female's voice. _Move Cye! Move before its too late! Your left!_ He didn't have time to think, he obeyed the strange voice in his head. And his life was spared.

But when he jumped to his left, he slammed into Ryo. And the two lost their balance. They fell onto the floor.

But the fall was taking too long. The floor seemed so far away. "Ryoooo!!" Cye yelled. Darkness; it was pitch black. Then he landed on something hard. He called out to Ryo again. "Ryo? Ryo, are you here?"

"Yeah, Cye. I'm... I'm right here." he heard a voice from in front of him somewhere. He crawled over to the sound and bumped into Ryo, causing him to call out in pain.

"Ryo! What... what happened? What just happened?"

"Cye, do you honestly think that I know? We fell... we should have fallen onto the floor!! Onto the carpet!! But... everythign vanished... what happened? Where are we..." Ryo grabbed his shoulder and winced. Even in the darkness, Cye could tell he was in pain.

"Ryo... your shoulder?"

"Yes. I think... I broke it in the fall. We need to get out of here."

"Where is 'here'?"

"Once again there you go with your stupid quesions!" he shouted. "If I knew where we were of what happened, do you think we would be in this mess right now?"

"Ryo... I'm sorry. I'm sorry that to you I'm so stupid. I'm sorry that we're in this stupid, stupid fight!! I'm sorry that I'm so weak and stupid and vulnerable!! I'm sorry-"

"CYE! Cye, stop. You shouldn't be the one who's sorry. I am. I... I don't know what got into me."

"Well... right now the only problem we have is how to get out of here. I have a feeling that something bad is about to happen." he said quietly. He stood up and helped Ryo up and the two started walking blindly towards the direction in which they thought the exit was in.

_To the right, Cye. Keep walking to the right!!_

"Wh-what?" he said, stopping and snapping up his head.

"What what?" Ryo asked.

"N-nothing." He said quietly. The voice had saved him once, should he trust it again?

He realized he had no choice. They weren't getting anywhere. They had no other pointers or tips as to where the exit was.

He turned and started walking to his right.

Pretty soon, a bright white light flashed and covered the two, temporarily blinding them until their eyes adjusted to the sudden brightness. Then they gasped. They were standing _facing_ the house.

"H-how..." Ryo stuttered. "This is impossible!! IMPOSSIBLE!! How are we FACING the house if we were looking for a way OUT of it?"

"Maybe we were never in it to begin with." Cye said. "Maybe this is just a huge, big illusion. Maybe we're just pawns in someone's game. And he's playing us. Just his pawns..."

"Cye! You're talking all crazy! What has gotten into-" Ryo was cut off as the two heard a huge explosion.

"Oh my god, Ryo! The house!" Cye nearly yelled. Then his eyes rested on something else. "MIKA! Ryo, Mika is still there! She's going to get killed!" he said and started to run towards her.

"Cye! Cye, come back! It's too late! Cye!" he heard Ryo shout from behind him. But Cye didn't listen. _No, she's not going to die. She can't!_ He ran, faster, faster, until the building had laid itself down ontop of her. Her screams echoed in his ears, her terror stricken face frozen in his mind; etched into his skull. It was a look he would never forget. And those screams...

Cye grabbed his head and started to cry. _No! It wasn't fair! It's not fair! She was so inocent... she should never have been brought into this whole big mess... its all my fault. It's my fault she's dead._

-[*]-

"SAGE!" Rowen shouted, tears brimming his eyes. "Sage... Did you... How did..."

"She's dead. Mika's gone. There is no way she could have survived that. There's no way anyone could have survived a two story building falling ontop of them like that." he said quietly. "It's my fault, Rowen. I... they were right there. I should have grabbed them... should have saved them! But I couldn't... they just disappeared. Then I fell through the roof... no. Someone pulled me down. Someone planned for this to happen." he said.

"Sage, it's nobody's fault!" Rowen said, standing next to his best friend. "I know that even if you wanted to, you couldn't have saved her. We were just too far away. There was no way possible that either I or you could have gotten to her fast enough to save her."

"Ryo. And Cye. And Mia and Yulie. Are they still alive? Where are they?" Sage looked back out at the house again and saw a familier figure bent over in the front yard. "C-Cye... that's Cye!" Sage said happily. Cye was alive!

"Cye!" Rowen called out to him. "Hey, Cye! Cye, are you alright?" Still, he ignored them. "I'm going to go see what's wrong. Somethings wrong with him." Rowen said to Sage and he ran up to Cye.

"Cye? Cye, whats wrong? It's me, Rowen." Rowen said, kneeling down next to Cye.

"It's my fault. My fault." his voice was muffled. "I couldn't get to her fast enough. And now she's gone. Shes dead..."

"Cye! It's not your fault. It's nobody's fault." Rowen felt as if he was just repeating himself from before with Sage. "We can't undo the past. All we can do is look forward to is the future and protect the present." Rowen said. At the time, it made absolutely no sense to Cye. "We have to protect the present," he repeated, his eyes fixated on the house.

"I'm sorry, Rowen. It's just... she was right there... and her screams... her face..."

"We ALL feel guilty Cye! We all watched it happen. We all heard and saw what happened but were helpless." he said quietly, tears brimming his eyes as he stared off at where the house had been just seconds ago.

Cye didn't say anything but stood up and started walking towards the woods. "Cye? Cye!" Rowen called after him until he noticed who he was walking to a familier figure hidden by the shadows of the trees. "Ryo?" he said and jogged after Cye. Cye reached Ryo and bent down to help him up.

"Rowen!! Hey, you're alright!" Ryo said when he saw Rowen standing behind Cye.

"Yeah, Sage and I are fine. And Jessica too..." he trailed off.

"I saw what happened." he said in a voice that was barely audible. Then he looked up. "Mia. A-and Yulie... Are they alright?"

"We don't know. We haven't seen them since... since Kento and Mika... ran upstairs." Thee was an akward silence between the three until Rowen grabbed Ryo's arm and helped support him up. "We sould get back to Sage. He's probably wondering where we are."

"Right." Ryo said, looking straight ahead.

The three walked over to where Sage was waiting with Jessica still draped across his arms. Sage looked up as they approached and he smiled. "Ryo!! You're alright!!"

Ryo half laughed. "Well, all except my shoulder. I think its broken..."

"Broken?? How?"

"Well, Cye and I were in the house fighting the warriors when he knocked into me and we both fell..." he stopped talking a minute to think. "And then the strangest thing happened," he continuted after a few moments.

"Something strange happened to me too." Rowen added.

"Yeah, same with me." Sage said.

"Well we fell and it was taking longer than it should have to fall the distance we supposedly fell. Then we were in this pitch black place and we walked and suddenly we were outside near the edge of the woods facing the house..."

"Yeah!" Rowen said. "I fell from the window that was broken. And it took way too long and when I finally DID land it was near the edge of the woods..."

"And with me I fell through the roof after trying to save Jessica and Mika... and... then the same thing happened to me as with Ryo and Cye." Sage said.

"This is so strange... but where are Mia, White Blaze, and Yulie? I hope... They didn't..." Ryo said, his face suddenly turning ghastly white.

"Oh God no..." Sage said, looking back up at the house that had claimed so many lives. So many young and innocent lives. He clenched his hand into a fist. "They're alive. I just know it. They HAVE to be..."

"But maybe they're not." Cye said quietly, the first hes spoken since they remet back up with Ryo. "Maybe... Maybe they were as unfortunate as Mika and were caught when the stupid house collapsed-"

"CYE! SHUT UP!" Rowen screamed in a rage. "Get it through your head! There is NOTHING that we could have done to save her! Not you, not me, not ANYBODY! So QUIT blaming yourself!" Rowen turned around facing the woods with narrowed eyes.

Cye opened his mouth like he was going to say something but shut it when Rowen gasped.

"Guys... guys! Look!" he exclaimed, pointing into the woods where they could see some figures approaching them.

"Could it be the dynasty?" Sage said from next to Rowen. Rowen, in response, narrowed his eyes in concentration.

"I... don't think so." he replied. Then his face broke out in a huge smile. "It's Mia!! And Yulie and White Blaze!"

"White Blaze!" Ryo cried as the huge tiger ran out of the woods and nuzzled against Ryo, avoiding his injured shoulder.

"Where have you guys been?? We've been looking EVERYwhere for you!! The strangest thing happened to us though..." Yulie went on as soon as he saw the guys. But then he noticed that someone was missing. "Hey guys... wheres Kento?"

"Kento... we... really don't know where he is, Yulie." Ryo started to explain.

"You don't know where he is??" Mia stepped in.

"No, we just said that to trick you. OF COURSE we don't know where he is! You don't see him here, now do you?"

"Well... no, but-"

"I prove my point."

"Everyone seems to be here except for Kento and Mika. Do you know where Mika is? Is she alright?"

Everyone was silent.

"What? What's wrong...?" Mia asked innocently.

"Mia..." Rowen said, his voice breaking, "She... well...you see your house? Or... whats left of it? She was... caught in it..."

"Oh... oh no..."

"Yeah." he said quietly. "We were all right there and... but still... huh?" he said as they heard a loud rumbling noise from the direction of where the house had once stood. Debris, shattered pieces of glass and chunks of wood were beginning to vibrate in the area where they had all last seen Mika...

"What's going on?" Sage shouted over the loud humming noise that came from the pile of debris and was getting louder. A faint violet aura appeared surrounding the place where Mika had last stood. A great gust of wind came up and started twirling around the aura, picking up bits of debris and flinging it away from the site.

The aura became brighter and brighter, the violet growing more and more intense until all they could see was a huge bright, white light and all they could hear was the loud, low pitched hum they assumed was coming from within the aura. The aura became so bright that they had to shield their eyes; their hair whipping around their faces.

Suddenly it all just stopped; the humming stopped, the wind died down, and the debris all fell back to the ground not in the places where they had been before. Slowly they lowered their hands from in front of their eyes and fixated their gaze on the bright white light slowly floating towards them from where the aura had been.

As it came closer, a figure could be made out and the closer it came to them, the fainter the light became until Mika stood before them, not a scratch, cut, bruise, or a hair out of place. She blinked, her eyes wide open in suprise and she looked down at herself in disbelief.

"M-Mika? Is that... really you?" Ryo said, not wanting to believe that the girl who had just died, who he had watched die, was standing in front of him as alive as he.

"I... I think so... I guess..." she said, the reality of things still not sinking in. "What just happened to me? Am I dead?"

"Either you're dead or you're a ghost."

"I prefer the alive Mika."

Mika half grinned. "Well your wish is my command, I guess. Because I'm here, in the flesh, again, not one bit dead."

"You're sure you're not a ghost?"

"A ghost can't do this," she said, walking up to Rowen and punching him on the shoulder.

"You're right, a ghost might actually hurt me."

"Ouch. I think THAT hurt, Rowen."

"Sarcasm... Oh wow!! Jessica!!" Mika exclaimed as she saw her sister laying limp across Sage's arms still. "Jessica! What HAPPENED to her?"

"The same thing that happened to you, I guess... except she was a little farther away from the building when it collapsed... ontop of you... you're SURE you're not dead?"

"Oh we of little confidence... but really now. What happened to my sister?"

"She's fainted."

"Ok Mr. Obvious..."

"Really!"

"I can CLEARLY see that."

"For a person who was dead not even a minute ago, you sure are acting normal."

"Normal? You want NORMAL?"

"Forget I said anything."

"That's what I thought. Now - What. Happened. To. My. Sister. Please. Tell. Me."

"I told you; we don't know. Sage somehow got transported out of the house, as we all did and when he "appeared", I guess you would say, by the edge of the woods, he saw a warrior with Jessica and he knocked him out and picked her up and then he turned and saw you by-"

"-by the front door trying to fight off the warrior that was holding ME prisioner. But... But the there was this huge rumbling noise and before... before I could move it seemed as if the whole world had just fallen ontop of me. Boards were sticking in my back, nails poking into my skin, and I know for a fact that I hit my head pretty hard and I should have a broken arm now. Yet I have no injuries whatsoever and I don't feel pain or anything. I died. I KNOW I did." Mika finished for Rowen. She wiped away a tear before the others could see it and then noticed that Cye hadn't spoken since she'd come back.

"Cye? Cye are you alright? Why haven't you said anything?"

"I-I'm fine. It's just that I'm... overwhelmed from what all happened."

"Ahh."

"Mika... when you chased Kento upstairs with the fire poker... what happened?? Kento seems to have... disappeared." Sage reported.

"Gee... you have such a wide vocabulary. For your information, I chased him upstairs and by the time I reached the top of the steps, I looked around for him because he wasn't even a foot ahead of me but he was gone. So I stopped in the hallway when someone pushed me from behind out through the window... and I screamed... I held on to the bottom of the window sill but not all the glass was broken so pieces still in the frame were cutting into my hands. The entire sill and my hands alike were covered in my own blood..." she said, looking down at her hands. "But, amazingly enough..." Mika laughed a little as she held up her hands. "Look Ma, no blood."

Sage studied Jessica's hands a moment before saying, "and after we heard you scream, Jessica ran upstairs and found you hanging on outside the window so she bent down and tried to help you back up... thats why her hands and knees are all cut up."

"Shes wearing more my blood than her own."

"Well, on her knees-"

"Yeah, I donated her my knee blood."

"Just checking..."

"You're so guillable."

"Guillable? Me? Sage Date? HA!"

"No comment."

"But still," Ryo said, butting back in, "were the warriors already there when you ran upstairs or was the window already broken or was there another window possibly that they broke to get into the upstairs?? Or did they attack you AFTER-" Everyone stopped and stared at Ryo.

"Hel-lo! Where have YOU been for the past ten minutes when I explained all of this?" Mika said impatiently.

"Excuse me, Mrs. Immortal."

"Hey now, I prefer Akuma."

"Sometimes the name DOES say it all."

"I heard that..."

"I meant for you to."

"I'm hungry! Mia, when's lunch?" Yulie interupted them. They had almost forgotten that Yulie and Mia were there.

"Well Yulie, in case you haven't been LISTENING for the past oh day... I have no house. The entire city has vanished. Kento has vanished. Therefore, we have no food."

"Uhm... what about ice-cream?"

"GO PLAY WITH WHITE BLAZE!" Mia screamed at him. Yulie gave her a scared look before turning around and running the other way, White Blaze right on his heels. "Gosh, I shoulda done that a LONG time ago."

Everyone clapped. Mia bowed.

"Thank you, thank you, no autographs, please."

"Are you sure you're not posessed?" Rowen asked.

"Positive."

"Alright, I'll take your word."

"So... whatre we gonna do? These guys are just popping up like daisies... unpredictable and deadly." Sage said.

"Well we should get away from here. They know we're here so they could come attack us at any time. I mean, sure, they're gonna find us again, but..." Ryo said.

"I say we head out into the woods. They'd give us some protection and we can find a place to stay for the night." Rowen suggested.

"..or we could go back to our house," Mika said. "We have food and beds and... well... besides the fact that we're missing half of our upper level, I'd say that it'd give us a little protection."

"Truthfully I just want to get out of here." Mia said, sounding exhausted. "Beings I no longer have a house, any house is better than whats left of mine."

"Alright then, lets go. White Blaze!!" Ryo called to him and he jumped out of the woods, Yulie holding on to his back.

By the time the group got back to Mika and Jessica's house the sky was already getting dark. Sage brought Jessica over and laid her down on the couch. Yulie sat down silently on the floor next to the arm of the couch. All the others called it an early night and Mika grabbed all of the extra blankets and pillows that she could find and passed them around to everyone, who laid down wherever there was room.

-[*]-

Jessica opened her eyes and gasped, sitting straight up. She looked around, confused at first at what had happened and where she was. She strained her mind to remember what had happened, but all she could bring up were hazy memories. She groaned and put her feet over the side of the couch, wondering why she was on the couch and not in her own bed. Thats when she noticed everyone sleeping on the floor.

_'Huh?? Why are there seven people sleeping on the floor in my livingroom and kitchen?'_ She thought, stepping over people to the kitchen where she opened a cabinet and searched for an aspirin bottle in the dark. Trying not to make any noise, she opened the refridgerator door and searched for a soda that she knew she left hidden in the back. But she couldn't find it and the refridgerator was empty. _'Dad needs to go shopping... I'll have to remind him in the morning,'_ She thought to herself.

She got a glass of water instead and sat down at the kitchen table. Someone stirred in the livingroom. _'God, why does it feel as if I've been run over by a freight train? My whole body aches...'_ The person from the livingroom stood up and scratched their head. 

"Jessica?"

Jessica looked up. "Huh?"

"Hey, you're alright!"

"Yeah, I'm fine... why wouldn't I be?" She said, giving him a strange look.

"You... don't remember?"

"If you're insentuating that I don't remember you, then you're correct. Why are all these people laying on my livingroom floor? Did we have a party? Is that why I have such a big headache and can't remember anything?"

The guy, who she saw now had blonde hair, sat down across from her at the kitchen table. "No... there was no party..."

"Then would you please explain to me WHY all these people are passed out on my livingroom floor!" She said, her voice getting louder from her anger.

"Damn..." he said, leaning back in the chair, staring at the ceiling. "You must've gotten hit harder than we thought."

"Hit? Hit by what?"

"Hit by the demon."

She laughed sarcastically. "The demon. Ahh oh yes it all makes perfect sense now. You were all over here smoking drugs and getting high or whatever. Demons... hah!"

"No...! Thats not it! I'm serious!"

"Oh, so am I! Did you see the floating marshmallows? They started attacking the hairbrush and a war broke out!"

"Do you want me to prove it to you?"

"What, are you gonna show me your stash?"

"No, come upstairs."

"I'm not going upstairs alone with you!" she almost yelled. "You've got to be out of your mind! You crazy sick man!"

"No, I'm not going to-"

"Stay away from me!" she said, getting up from the table and knocking her chair over. The chair woke someone else up.

"Jessica?" said a familier voice.

"Mika! What are all these freaks doing passed out on our livingroom floor? This ones trying to get me to go upstairs with him!" she said, half panicking.

"You don't remember who they are?"

"Did someone spike the soda? Is that why I don't remember anything?"

Mika got up and walked over to her. "He wants you to go upstairs to prove to you what happened! He's not going to DO anything to you!"

"Fine fine..." she grumbled. "If a so-called "demon" attacked me and thats why I can't remember anything, then what happened?"

Mika closed her eyes for a second before starting. "Well before I tell you, you're absolutely, positively, 100% SURE that you don't remember a thing??"

Jessica rolled her eyes. "Yesss..."

"Alright..." she said, smiling to herself. _'THIS could be fun...'_ "Well..." she started slowly, "last night you were out partying... and you met these guys... and before you know it you and him," she said, motioning to the blonde-haired guy standing next to her, "run off to a smal chapel somewhere and got hitched!"

Jessica face drained all color. "Wha-what?"

Sage dropped back into the chair. "We did?"

Mika glared at Sage. "Yes, you did!" she hissed at him.

"Ohhhh..."

"We did?" Jessica squeaked.

Mika nodded.

Suddenly, someone walked into the kitchen from down the hall. "JESSICA AND SAGE GOT MARRIED??"

Mika couldn't help it anymore and fell on the ground laughing. Jessica suddenly realized that she was joking as everyone in the livingroom woke up and looked at the three in the kitchen with bewildered looks on their faces. Mika lay on the ground gasping for air as Jessica walked over and kicked her in her side.

"MIKA ASHI KENSHIN!"

"Whoa your name means evil jug meter inspector??" Kento asked, serious for once.

That just sent Mika into another fit of hysterics. "Kenshin... is... chinese... and I have... no clue... where my mom... came up with the rest of my name!!" She said between fits of laughter.

Jessica grew angrier. "WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!" She screamed at her, not caring if she woke the whole neighborhood or not (not as if there WAS a neighborhood LEFT, but at this point she didn't remember that).

Mia walked over to Jessica and led her upstairs to try to calm her down as the guys stayed downstairs and tried calming MIKA down. Eventually they had her calmed down enough to stop screaming at them.

Upstairs, Jessica nearly fainted, once again, as Mia explained to her what REALLY happened and backed it up by showing her what was left of the second story of her house. She eventually remembered what happened, and the two walked soberly back downstairs where they were met with a pretty funny sight that even Jessica had to crack a smile at.

Mika glared up at her. "JESSICA SHIMI KENSHIN, DON'T YOU DARE LAUGH!"

Kento was the one who started laughing this time. "YOUR name means bookworm meter inspector??"

"So my mom was drugged up when she had us!"

In the middle of the kitchen floor was Mika. On top of Mika was White Blaze sitting on her in order to keep her from attacking the guys because Kento threatened to kiss her again if she didn't stop laughing. So there she was laying on the floor with a huge white tiger sitting on her stomach fuming.

"She has incredible mood swings..." Jessica said lightly. She stifled a yawn as she walked back over to the couch and laid down, leaving the others in the kitchen to deal with Mika. As she drifted off to sleep, the voices slowly faded from her troubled mind and all the while a silent owl sat perched on the curtain rod across the room, watching her in silence.

* * *

[PartIV][1]

   [1]: roninbabes_chap4.htm



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